The ongoing case between Apple and the FBI has led to a polarizing debate about security. Apple, in case you didn’t know (but really you should), has pushed back on the FBI’s demands to help it unlock a phone belonging to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Apple CEO Tim Cook denounced the so-called “backdoor” the FBI wanted Apple to build, which would help bypass security features that protect information. As of almost two weeks ago Apple employees were reportedly set on quitting even if they were court-ordered to build a backdoor. They can rest easy, for now at least, as the Department of Justice reports it has hacked into Farook’s phone without Apple’s help.
A statement released by the Department of Justice doesn’t explain how the hack was made possible. Previously the FBI had said only Apple could help them access the data on the phone.
And if it wasn’t made clear, this alleged hack means the case against Apple is over (for now) as The Huffington Postreports.
Melanie Newman spokeswoman of the Department of Justice said, “As the government noted in its filing today, the FBI has now successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple required by this Court Order. The FBI is currently reviewing the information on the phone, consistent with standard investigatory procedures.”
Newman added:
On Monday night Apple released a statement: