Ondrej Holzman While the entire technology world is dealing with Apple's new products, the FBI is pulling the handbrake at the last minute on the case that was supposed to follow the keynote. After Monday's presentation, Apple officials were expected to move to the courtroom to fight the US government, which wants to hack into its iPhones, but that ultimately did not happen.
Just a few dozen hours before the start of Tuesday's hearing, the FBI sent a request to postpone it, and the court granted it. Originally, the issue was an iPhone found with the terrorist who shot 14 people in San Bernardino in December, and investigators could not access it due to security reasons. The FBI wanted to use a court order to compel Apple to unlock its iPhone, but is now backing off.
[su_pullquote align=”left”]It is speculated whether it is just a smoke screen.[/su_pullquote]According to the latest letter, the FBI has found a third party that may be able to get into the iPhone without Apple's help. That's why the US government has now asked the court to postpone the case if it really managed to bypass the security in the iPhone.
"As the FBI conducted its own investigation, and as a result of the worldwide publicity and attention surrounding the case, others outside the US government continually contacted the US government with offers of possible avenues," the letter said. So far, it is not at all clear who the "third party" (in the original "outside party") should be and what method he intends to use to break the encrypted iPhone.
But at the same time, there is also speculation about whether this letter is just a smoke screen, which the FBI is trying to drive the whole case to the car. The meeting at the court was a highly anticipated event that had preceded it for weeks constantly escalating debates about how user privacy should be protected and what the powers of the FBI are.
Apple's lawyers repeatedly challenged the other side's arguments very thoroughly, and it is possible that the US Department of Justice ultimately decided that it would lose in court. But it's also possible that it actually found another way to break Apple's protection. If successful, it "should eliminate the need for help from Apple."
How the whole case will develop now is not certain. Nevertheless, Apple was ready to give everything in the battle to protect the privacy of its users. In recent weeks, its top managers and the head of the company, Tim Cook, have even spoken publicly about this issue he spoke at Monday's keynote.
The US government is now set to inform the court of the new development by April 5.
The FBI just doesn't want to admit that they know how to crack it, they set a precedent. After all, no one can believe that the FBI could not have done it without Apple
The FBI wanted to use this case as a precedent in their favor, but after Apple's arguments, they probably realized that they could lose and a precedent would be created that would not allow them to ask for a security breach in the future. Today, it is not legally treated in any specific way, and the FBI requests a breakthrough based on a court order as part of the investigation, which, however, does not have a clear basis in law. Any precedent would thus give it a legal framework for the future.
Otherwise, not only the FBI but also other security agencies have had a long-term problem finding capable specialists in this area, as they have very strict security requirements for employees. that's why they can't hire a dreadlocked weed-smoking hacker even if he's the best. Regardless of the fact that a hacker earns significantly more from illegal activities on the Internet than he would as a security technician in the state administration.
if it's a naive opinion with those security experts, you shouldn't present your naive thoughts as facts
but on topic
I heard that the FBI could crack it even without them, that someone advised them how to do it, and that it could be Apple itself so as not to humiliate itself in front of customers, for example in exchange for not going to court where it was not 100% certain. and that the FBI got away with it like this without a trial or appeals, probably with the promise of Apple's cooperation in the future, and Apple outwardly pretends to customers that everything is fine and everyone is happy :)
so hopefully the effectiveness of the FBI and CIA in the fight against terrorism will increase and they will stop talking in the media about how Apple prevents them from doing it :)
no, then the FBI will sneak into people's bedrooms at night, where they will flash firmware while they sleep to silently download their porn photos and shopping lists in their notes.