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 The abrupt end to a confrontation that had transfixed the tech
industry was a victory for Apple, which vehemently opposed a court
order obtained by the Justice Department that would have required it
to write new software to get into the iPhone.
"From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple
build a back door into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong
and would set a dangerous precedent," Apple said in a statement late
on Monday. "As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of
these occurred. This case should never have been brought."
But the larger fight over law enforcement access to encrypted
information is by no means over. The technology industry is adamant
that anything that helps authorities bypass the security features of
tech products will undermine security for everyone.
Government officials are equally insistent that all manner of
criminal investigations will be crippled without access to phone
data.
At issue in the case was a county-owned iPhone used by Rizwan
Farook, one of the husband-and-wife shooters in the December rampage
in San Bernardino, California, in which 14 people were killed and 22
wounded. The couple died in a shootout with police after the attack.
After saying for weeks in court filings and congressional testimony
that Apple possessed the "exclusive technical means" to unlock
Farook's phone, the Justice Department unexpectedly announced on the
eve of a court hearing last week that an unidentified outside party
had presented it with a technique that might open the phone without
help from Apple.
In a two-page court filing on Monday, the Justice Department said
the government had "successfully accessed the data stored on
Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from
Apple."
It asked a federal magistrate in Riverside, California, to withdraw
the order compelling Apple to assist.
Apple had argued that the government request and resulting court
order were a massive overreach that would give courts unlimited
authority to force private companies to work as their agents. It
argued that Congress had specifically declined to give the
government such powers when it comes to electronic surveillance and
data collection.
"We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations,
as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the
security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data
become more frequent and more sophisticated," Apple said in its
statement.
Tech industry leaders including Google, Facebook and Microsoft and
more than two dozen other companies filed legal briefs supporting
Apple. The Justice Department received support from law enforcement
groups and six relatives of San Bernardino victims.
THORNY ISSUES
The Justice Department's apparent discovery of an iPhone hacking
technique presents thorny questions about how that knowledge will be
shared.
If the government tells Apple about the details, the company would
presumably fix whatever vulnerability was used and thus render the
method ineffective. If the government withholds the information,
Apple could face a public perception problem about the security of
its phones.
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There are also a number of pending cases across the country where
law enforcement officials are asking for access to iPhones. It is
not clear if they will have access to the break-in technique.
In one New York case, Justice Department officials have to respond
by Tuesday to an Apple request to delay the proceedings.
That could provide clues as to how the government intends to deal
with other iPhone cases.
On a conference call for reporters on Monday, a senior U.S. law
enforcement official said it was too soon to say whether the
government’s technique would work on other iPhones, or if it would
share information with Apple or other law enforcement agencies.
The FBI said in a statement it would not comment on the technical
steps taken to access the phone's data.
"The full exploitation of the phone and follow-up investigative
steps are continuing," David Bowdich, Assistant Director in Charge
of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement.
'ALL AVAILABLE OPTIONS'
The Justice Department suggested on Monday it would keep seeking
unorthodox means of getting information, including through the
courts when needed.
“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,” Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman said.
“We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission,
including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon
the creativity of both the public and private sectors.”
On Capitol Hill, critics of the Justice Department's efforts called
for further vigilance.
"Those worried about our privacy should stay wary - just because the
government was able to get into this one phone does not mean that
their quest for a secret key into our devices is over," said
Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican who sits on the
House Judiciary Committee.
(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; Additional reporting by
Joseph Menn in San Francisco and Eric Beech in Washington; Editing
by Jonathan Weber and Peter Cooney)
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