A bitter and publicized battle between tech mogul Apple and the United States Department of Justice has officially ended; the DoJ announced that it would back out of its case against Apple after confirming that it could, without Apple’s help, crack the code of the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, CA shooters.
Whether or not you absolutely hate Apple’s Maps GPS system, if you own an iPhone you’ll likely be relieved of the news. The department had originally attempted to strong arm Apple into creating a code itself that would allow the FBI to crack open the encrypted smartphone by issuing a demand authorized by the over two-centuries-old All Writ’s Law.
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Apple balked at the offer, making a strong legal case for the government having overstepped its power in what it could ask of a business. While the debate raged on for many weeks, the DoJ seems to have finally determined that the issue is not worth its while.
Perhaps this was because the FBI was ultimately able to retrieve data with the help of an undisclosed third party, no longer necessitating Apple’s assistance, as DoJ spokesperson Melanie Newman stated. Newman continued on to make clear that the agency still reserved the right to confront Apple yet again if any encrypted evidence happens to run up against privacy rights, corporate interest and the Constitution.
“It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails,” expanded Newman. “We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying on the creativity of both the public and private sectors.”
Apple’s major complaint in reaction to the FBI demand was that the company was being asked to open the door to additional requests not only in the U.S. but also in foreign states that lack the civil liberties protections. It claimed that political dissidents around the world could potentially be made vulnerable to their regimes without the safety of Apple’s encryption.
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That said, it seems to be that the government’s ability to hack into iPhone’s without Apple’s help would stand to prove that Apple’s feared “backdoor” already exists. Even if the FBI is required to disclose how it was able to break into the encrypted phone, it likely won’t be a huge surprise how it occurred.
“EFF [Electronic Frontier Foundation] is pleased that the Justice Department has retreated from its dangerous and unconstitutional attempt to force Apple to subvert the security of its iOS operating system. However, this new method of accessing the phone raises questions about the government’s apparent use of security vulnerabilities in iOS and whether it will inform Apple about there vulnerabilities,” stated Andrew Crocker, the staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“If the FBI used a vulnerability to unlock the iPhone in the San Bernardino case, the VEP must apply, meaning that there should be a very strong bias in favor of informing Apple of the vulnerability. That would allow Apple to fix the flaw and protect the security of all its users. We look forward to seeing more transparency on the issue.”
