FBI may have found a way into terrorist's iPhone

[shawn703]

Source: CNN

On the eve of a court showdown with Apple, the Department of Justice wants to cancel the hearing, saying it may have found a way into the iPhone of Syed Farook, the gunman in the San Bernardino shooting.

The DOJ has been pressuring Apple for help in gaining access to Farook's iPhone.

But in a court filing on Monday, the DOJ said it may no longer need Apple.

"On Sunday, March 20, 2016, an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking Farook's iPhone. If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple Inc."

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/21/technology/doj-apple-hearing/index.html

[choie]

1. like the FBI wasn't able to get into the phone before.

what a charade.

[valerief]

3. Bingo! Their bullshit is as clear as the long pointy nose on my face. nt

[cstanleytech]

16. Gonna have to wait to hear what method they used, it could be a new exploit that someone

discovered that Apple was not aware of and thus hasnt patched.

[NutmegYankee]

17. The phone is running an older iOS

It's possible the exploit is known and patched on newer versions. Also, the 5C doesn't have the hardware encryption, so it's possible to copy the data off the phone and clone it for hacking.

[JDPriestly]

4. Precisely.

[LiberalArkie]

2. No one believes the FBI. Generally it is said that the FBI wants out before a judge

rules against them. The NSA has always been able to get into the devices and both the NSA & CIA have both come out on Apple's side of the issue.

[Purveyor]

5. ^^^this^^^ eom

[reACTIONary]

13. I believe the FBI .... and Apple....

,.... apple did it's best to make the phone warrent proff and looks like they did a good job. There isn't any reason to doubt them or the FBI .

[herding cats]

6. Of course they have.

Timing is seriously suspect here. Right before a high profile trial they were going to lose, they've got it and don't need to push the issue.

[Mika]

7. They must have browsed Apple's forums. Way break-into an iPhone w/o passcode can be found there. eom

[Sgent]

8. Let me guess

NSA can get in....

The FBI wanted a back door it could use in court (since the suspect in this case is dead, court doesn't matter) and thought they had the perfect venue to get it by yelling "TERROR".

The push back they got from the public, congress, Apple, and everyone else is making them back down before they lose.

[suffragette]

24. Exactly so. It didn't work out the way they thought it would.

[Ellipsis]

9. 11111111 n/t

[MowCowWhoHow III]

10. Apple's helping them on the DL

[onehandle]

11. Apple's security is far superior to its competitors...

...but I cannot believe that the Feds don't have a way into that iPhone.

[rpannier]

12. Agree

I won't be surprised if 10 years from now there is a story about how this whole thing was a charade and they went through the motions for public consumption. That they already had gotten into his phone and found what they wanted or found nothing. But it looked good for the public

[joshcryer]

15. Yeah, I'm impressed by the tech.

But I bet some hacking group came forward for a bounty.

[NutmegYankee]

19. The phone in question is running an OS 2 generations behind and without the hardware encryption.

The newer phone have a hardware feature that is probably unbreakable.

[Odin2005]

14. This situation has been a PR boon for Apple

Expect a huge boost in sales by people and organizations concerned about the security of their data.

[GummyBearz]

18. I have it from an inside source, the password was 123456

Problem solved

[EllieBC]

20. It was an older OS. They probably always had the ability to get in.

Or they could've easily reached out to another agency to help them.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

21. I'm figuring they always had a way...

but, it was time consuming, expensive and a PITA.

They just wanted to simplify the process.

[SCVDem]

22. DOJ finally Googled it!

Well? Did they try it?

[davidthegnome]

23. What a surprise.

What they wanted was to set a precedent - a tech corporation working hand in hand with government to enable the government to remove privacy measures. The FBI, I suspect, was only the face of this thing, I suspect it was the NSA or various political entities that were really pulling the strings. For the future of safety, they would claim, they must be given access to such things to monitor them for "dangerous terrorist activity". Such lines have worked all too frequently in the past, but we know what the Patriot Act gave us, we know all about the NSA's domestic spying program thanks to Edward Snowden.

Those who sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither. Apple made the right choice here.