The FBI dropped its case against Apple to hack the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, but the Department of Justice filed a new letter today demanding Apple help it unlock a different iPhone.
The iPhone in question belonged to meth deal Jun Feng in New York. Federal authorities believe the device may contain critical evidence and plan to appeal a ruling made by a magistrate judge in Brooklyn who decided the government can’t force Apple to hack its own device.
In its letter of appeal, the DoJ argues that because Apple helped prosecutors unlock at least 70 iPhones in the past, the company should do it again.
“The Department of Justice has made the same application, for the same assistance, from the same company, dozens of times before,” U.S. attorneys wrote in their letter. “The government’s application is not moot and the government continues to require Apple’s assistance in accessing the data that it is authorized to search by warrant.”
Hacking methods purchased by the FBI from Cellebrite to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c only work on a narrow slice of iOS devices. They may not be able to unlock the Brooklyn iPhone, even though it is running iOS 7.
By pursuing this case further though, the Feds are running the risk of having to reveal their iPhone hacking secrets to Apple. FBI Director James Comey has been hesitant to divulge how his agency unlocked the San Bernardino iPhone 5c, arguing that as soon as the feds tell Apple the company will fix the whole and they won’t have access to other devices.
You can read the full filing below:
In re Order Requiring Apple Inc. to Assist in the Execution of a Search Warrant by Kif Leswing
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
6 responses to “The feds still want Apple to help it hack an iPhone in New York”
Several things we have learned from the San Bernardino case:
1. The FBI is run by a bunch of incompetent dicks.
2. The FBI bought a method to unlock iPhones that are the 5C or older.
3. The FBI won’t tell Apple how for fear of them closing the hole, meaning it’s ACTUALLY POSSIBLE FOR APPLE TO CLOSE IT!
4. The FBI blatantly lied when they said this was about “only one phone”.
5. Apple is strengthening the iPhone’s security to stick up for its customers.
6. The FBI already can’t touch the data on newer iPhones.
7. The FBI is run by a bunch of incompetent dicks.
Corrections:
1. “meth deal” –> “meth dealer”
2. “fix the whole” –> “fix the hole”
3. “DoJ” –> “DOJ”
Department of Justice = DoJ
While “of” is generally not capitalized in a name, the letter “O” is capitalized when included in an acronym, as in each of the following examples:
DOA – Dept. of Agriculture
DOC – Dept. of Commerce
DOD – Dept. of Defense
DOE – Dept. of Energy
DOL – Dept. of Labor
DOJ – Dept. of Justice
DOS – Dept. of State
DOT – Dept. of Transportation
However, if you don’t believe me, then visit your state’s Department of Transportation website, and you will find they also use DOT, generally with one or more letters preceding it for the state name.
Many words go like that; Caterpillar (A brand name is used in the same way as Bulldozer), A scooter is a Vespa (Which from the beginning was a model of Piaggio, Vespa means Wasp)…
Hmmm, not the same, you are talking about acronyms…. Interesting anyhow :-)
Did not know about the Scuba….
The thing is, when they ask Apple to get access to the data, the easiest way is resetting the iCloud password if the device has been backed up to iCloud. But if the phone isn’t backed up, the method for cracking the password may not be readily available since Apple is constantly plugging security holes in the OS, so it’s a constant issue as to whether or not Apple can actually comply with the court order in a timely manner. It takes time to develop a way to crack the password and Apple doesn’t want to put a backdoor because hackers will figure out the back door and then all of our devices are subject to be easily hacked by NON-LE personnel, which is the bigger problem.
One thing to note, the FBI doesn’t seem to have a problem getting access to an Android phone. I guess they are easily hacked.