The FBI has announced that they have managed to gain access to the controversial iPhone 5c that belonged to one of the suspects in the San Bernardino shooting, and the feds do not have plans of sharing to Apple how it was done. Apple had initially refused to hack into the phone.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Apple, as the phone manufacturer, needed to know how the law enforcement agency was able to bypass the security features on the said phone. This information will, in turn, be used to help secure future phones by the company. However, it is also known that governments worldwide purchase, develop and use hacking technologies for law enforcement and counter-terrorism efforts without informing any affected corporations.
"One way or another, Apple needs to figure out the details," said Justin Olsson, AVG Technologies' product counsel. "The responsible thing for the government to do is privately disclose the vulnerability to Apple so they can continue hardening security on their devices."
Reuters added that according to a source familiar with the matter, if the U.S. Department of Justice will still push the New York court to make Apple crack open an iPhone, then the tech giant has the leverage over the government as they would have to reveal how it was done for the San Bernardino case. The Justice Department will have its decision after two weeks.
The Brooklyn, New York case is a drug case that also involves an iPhone.
The high-profile case between Apple and the FBI has put personal privacy in the limelight. As Apple lawfully declined to crack open the controversial iPhone, the intelligence and security service of the United States is said to have sought some help outside of the country. It is highly speculated that an Israeli company, Cellebrite, was the third-party involved.
However, Yossi Carmil, CEO of Cellebrite, was asked by CNBC and has denied the rumors, saying, "Under no circumstances do we comment on our forensic business clients, ever."
Carmil also said that the company follows a "set of ethics we will never violate."
