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Apple’s battle with the FBI, over whether it should create a backdoor to allow for the hacking of iPhones, is one of the biggest stories in tech right now.

Over the weekend, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, took to the pages of the Washington Post for an impassioned op-ed about how hard Apple works to stay ahead of criminals and terrorists who want to infiltrate its systems — and why the FBI and Justice Department’s proposed solution to the problem is so “disappointing.”

The United Nations is standing behind Apple in the company’s fight against the FBI over whether the federal government can compel the iPhone-maker to create a backdoor into iOS.

In a letter written in support of Apple’s case, U.N. Special Rapporteur David Kaye says that if the feds are successful, it would infringe on citizens’ right to freedom of expression.

In a Congressional hearing today that included both Apple’s chief attorney and government officials, FBI head James Comey didn’t win many people over to his side.

The meeting allowed both sides to make their arguments for and against Apple creating a less secure version of the iPhone’s operating system that would allow officials to get by the password lock on a dead terrorist’s phone. And things seemed to go squarely in the company’s favor, although it was not without its caveats.

Apple has argued that its encryption beef with the U.S. government should be heard by Congress, rather than the courts, and it appears that certain members of the House Judiciary Committee agree.

According to a new report, select Republican and Democratic party members of the House Judiciary Committee are considering filing a “friend of the court” brief to support elevating the case up to Congress level — although no final decision has yet been made.

Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow, when he’ll go toe-to-toe with FBI Director James Comey over whether the bureau should be allowed to force Apple to create a backdoor into iOS.

Tim Cook already explained Apple’s argument against the FBI’s orders, but today the company revealed what will be Sewell’s opening remarks before Congress unloads a barrage of questions — and he’s got some pretty big questions of his own for lawmakers to consider.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett says Apple should help the FBI crack the iPhone at the center of the San Bernardino shooting case because “privacy has its limits.”

Speaking to CNBC Monday, Buffett said he’s not siding against Apple — although he kind of is.

Apple’s been getting a lot of flack for its refusal to create a “GovtOS” from the FBI and Department of Justice. Tim Cook and company have also garnered plenty of support for their forceful stance from other tech companies as well as the rank and file Apple consumer.

Check out this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine to figure out why Apple refuses to create GovtOS, how to get its latest and greatest software, find the best iPhone and iPad password managers around, check out a virtual tour of Tim Cook’s office, and see how the beloved iPod shuffle has been reborn for the age of Spotify.

Here are the week’s top stories.

Ted Olson, the legendary lawyer hired by Apple to represent it in the company’s battle against the FBI, warned that the government’s demand to unlock the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone will have wide ranging implications, and could possibly create a police state.

In an interview this morning, Olson said that if the FBI wins it would create an avalanche of requests from both federal and state courts to unlock iPhones in other cases that prosecutors believe may possibly contain evidence that could be used against the owner.

Apple and the FBI are locked in a bitter legal battle over San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5c that was recovered at the terrorist event, but according to San Bernardino’s chief of police we’re all overlooking one very important issue: there might not be any useable intelligence on it.

This week on The CultCast: With the FBI-versus-Apple privacy battle heating up, some lawyers say Tim Cook could land in jail; why Siri in the next version of OS X may point to redesigned MacBooks; and, just how much would you pay for a box of Steve Jobs’ old crap? Plus we pitch you our favorite tech and apps in an all-new Faves ‘N Raves!

Apple has officially asked a judge to dismiss a court order requiring the company to unlock a terrorist’s iPhone at the FBI’s request.

We knew the legal filing was coming, but now we have the actual defenses Apple is using to defend its refusal to create what it calls a “GovtOS” that would let officials potentially bypass the security measures of millions of iPhones. The 65-page document released today details Apple’s history of assistance in the case — and the reasons it believes the original order is both bothersome and possibly illegal.

The FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into a terrorist’s iPhone has done the seemingly impossible by getting Microsoft, Google and Apple all on the same team.

Many of the country’s top tech firms have revealed that they will file friend-of-the court briefs in defense of Apple’s position that no company should be compelled by the government to break its own security and thus put the public safety of millions of users at risk.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee announced both FBI director James Comey and Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell are testifying at a congressional hearing on encryption March 1. The saga is far from over, since both will state their cases on the matter of whether the government should have access to users’ iPhone data.

The congressional hearing ultimately revolves around a single question: how can the FBI efficiently do what’s necessary to combat threats without invading users’ privacy and potentially making iOS a more vulnerable operating system? Right now there are two polar opposite positions.

Apple plans to make future versions of iOS so secure even it can’t hack it, and the company is wasting no time stocking up on talented developers that specialize in encryption.

One of the iPhone-maker’s most recent hires, Frederic Jacobs, was previously a lead developer for Signal, which has earned a name as one of the most secure messaging apps available. It’s so good, it’s become a favorite of former NSA-contractor Edward Snowden who says he uses it everyday.

Caution: Weasel-words ahead! FBI director James Comey today defended iPhone hacking again, this time in front of a congressional panel — saying that it was absolutely a one-off case which wouldn’t set a precedent, only to acknowledge that the verdict “will be instructive for other courts” in future.

Comey also said that he thinks this question needs to be resolved by Congress — backing up an argument that Apple has made this week.

Apple has reportedly started work on creating new security measures for the iPhone that would make it even harder for governments to break into a locked iPhone using the methods being discussed as part of the current San Bernardino court case in California.

There is no word on exactly how Apple plans to approach the problem, but it said to have been working on a solution prior to the recent court case. One possible solution may relate to a new backup strategy for iCloud authentication, which Apple itself would not be able to decrypt.

Saying that Apple’s refusal to help an FBI investigation puts the company “on the side of terrorists,” Maricopa County, Arizona’s county attorney’s office will no longer issue iPhones for official use.

Prosecutor Bill Montgomery issued the public statement today after privately communicating the new policy to “applicable staff” on Sunday.

Tim Cook is continuing his PR crusade against the FBI this week, only instead of publishing another open letter about Apple’s pro-privacy stance, the CEO will sit down for an interview with David Muir tonight on ABC’s World News Tonight.

The current Apple vs. the FBI privacy case is fast becoming one of the biggest tech stories of 2016. But Apple clearly believes it ought to be elevated even higher — telling a federal judge this week that the case should be kicked up to Congress level, instead of being decided by courts.

Apple fans rallied behind their privacy savior in more than 50 cities across the United States today to protest the FBI’s demands that Apple unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone and compromise the security of millions of users’ data in the process.

Grassroots protests broke out from Albuquerque to Washington, D.C., aiming to raise public awareness about the privacy battle Apple is fighting. The protesters had some harsh words for the FBI.

If Apple loses its encryption battle with the FBI over the data contained on a terrorist’s phone, it will make Manhattan’s district attorney and police commissioner very happy.

Despite the federal government’s claim that the updated version of the iPhone’s operating system will only be used on this case, D.A. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. sees a government victory as a sure way to get Apple to unlock a bunch of other devices his office is sitting on. And by “a bunch,” we mean hundreds of phones that the company could suddenly be compelled to compromise.

Apple has added Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to its growing list of elite tech allies that support that company’s fight against the FBI’s demands to create a back door on iOS to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.

During an appearance today at the the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Zuckerberg said that adding backdoor access to devices is neither effective nor the right thing to do.

The FBI claims Apple’s resistance to its demands to hack the San Bernardino terrorist’s are part of a marketing brand strategy, but if it is, it’s not one that the American people support.

A new poll from the Pew Public Research Center has revealed that over half of the country opposes Apple’s position in its privacy battle against the FBI, while only 38% of Americans think Apple should not unlock the iPhone to ensure the security of its customer’s private data.

The FBI claims there’s absolutely no other way for it to access San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5c expect other having Apple create a backdoor. But according to Edward Snowden there’s at least one other option: acid and lasers.

The former NSA contractor and privacy activist appeared in a virtual talk at Johns Hopkins University and pointed out that even though FBI insists forcing Apple to hack the iPhone is the only way forward, that’s simply not true.

Carol Adams’ son, Robert Adams, was among the 14 people killed by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife on December 2 in San Bernardino, but she doesn’t think the FBI should force Apple to hack the terrorist’s iPhone.

Adams said she stands by Apple’s decision to fight the FBI’s demands to weaken the iPhone’s security in order to access information on Farook’s locked iPhone, explaining that the constitutional right to privacy “is what makes America great to begin with.”