Just as expected, the US Justice Department has gained access into the disputed iPhone of the San Bernadino terror suspect and has forthwith decided to forgo its lawsuit with Apple.
According to an evasive source within the Justice Department, the phone was unlocked using an ‘alternative method’ that did not involve the participation of Apple.
In a press release that sounded boastful, the Justice Department said ‘The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Court’s Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016,”.
In a swift reply to the development, Apple maintained it stand saying: “From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.”
“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 believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.”
No matter how we look at it, it is a deeply embarrassing situation for Apple. While we can commend Apple for standing its ground, the security of the iPhone might not be as strong as Apple has touted it. Apple would try to improve its encryption technology but that is no longer believable with what has just happened.
It is also a big blow to Apple because it just launched its iPhone SE. Would many customers change their mind because of this damaging situation? We will see how its sales would react to this.
