Apple says it “immediately” reached out to the FBI to help the agency unlock the encrypted smartphone of the shooter in the Texas church massacre.
The FBI declined to name the type of phone used by suspected shooter, Devin Kelley, but ABC News reported earlier today that the device is indeed an Apple handset.
“We offered assistance and said we would expedite our response to any legal process they send us,” Apple said in a statement published on ABC’s website. Apple contacted the FBI about Kelley’s phone after learning about it from a news conference earlier in the week. “We work with law enforcement every day. We offer training to thousands of agents so they understand our devices and how they can quickly request information from Apple.”
The Apple statement did not spell out how it would specifically assist the FBI. Federal law enforcement was critical of Apple after it refused to create a “back-door” access to its devices for law enforcement following the 2015 San Bernardino shooting.
The shooters responsible for killing 14 people left behind an iPhone 5C, which the agency paid $900,000 to a hacker who unlocked the phone.
Source: ABC News
David Pierini is a former newspaper writer and long-time photographer. Considered a luddite by most of his friends, they did not believe him when he broke the news that he would be writing for a technology website. He is fascinated by human nature and would love to cultivate stories about the people driving the tech bus. Reach out to him at [email protected].
