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| Apple rejects order to unlock gunman's phone | Apple rejects order to unlock gunman's phone |
| (17 days later) | |
| Apple will contest a court order to help FBI investigators access data on the phone used by San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook. | |
| The company had been ordered to help the FBI circumvent security software on Farook's iPhone, which the FBI said contained crucial information. | The company had been ordered to help the FBI circumvent security software on Farook's iPhone, which the FBI said contained crucial information. |
| In a statement, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said: "The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers." | In a statement, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said: "The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers." |
| "We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand." | "We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand." |
| Since September 2014, data on the latest Apple devices - such as text messages and photographs - have been encrypted by default. | Since September 2014, data on the latest Apple devices - such as text messages and photographs - have been encrypted by default. |
| If a device is locked, the user's passcode is required to access the data. Entering an incorrect code 10 times will automatically erase the phone's data, if this option has been enabled. | If a device is locked, the user's passcode is required to access the data. Entering an incorrect code 10 times will automatically erase the phone's data, if this option has been enabled. |
| Apple says even its own staff cannot access the data. | |
| The FBI has asked Apple to do two things. | The FBI has asked Apple to do two things. |
| Firstly, it wants the company to alter Farook's iPhone so that investigators can make unlimited attempts at the passcode without the risk of erasing the data. | Firstly, it wants the company to alter Farook's iPhone so that investigators can make unlimited attempts at the passcode without the risk of erasing the data. |
| Secondly, it wants Apple to help implement a way to rapidly try different passcode combinations, to save tapping in each one manually. | Secondly, it wants Apple to help implement a way to rapidly try different passcode combinations, to save tapping in each one manually. |
| The FBI wants to use what is known as a "brute force" attack, trying out every combination until stumbling across the correct one and unlocking the phone. | The FBI wants to use what is known as a "brute force" attack, trying out every combination until stumbling across the correct one and unlocking the phone. |
| Farook is understood to have used a four-digit passcode which means there are 10,000 possible combinations. | Farook is understood to have used a four-digit passcode which means there are 10,000 possible combinations. |
| Could Apple do what the FBI has asked? - Dr Steven Murdoch, cybersecurity expert | Could Apple do what the FBI has asked? - Dr Steven Murdoch, cybersecurity expert |
| "It's difficult to say with any degree of certainty - Apple does not disclose enough about its operating system to know. | "It's difficult to say with any degree of certainty - Apple does not disclose enough about its operating system to know. |
| Other secure products such as smart cards are designed so that the security cannot be changed after they leave the factory. | Other secure products such as smart cards are designed so that the security cannot be changed after they leave the factory. |
| Some devices such as bank computers wipe themselves if you try to change the software. | Some devices such as bank computers wipe themselves if you try to change the software. |
| But phones are not designed primarily from a security perspective. | But phones are not designed primarily from a security perspective. |
| It's possible that forcing a new version of iOS onto the phone would wipe it. Apple may have designed it in this way - and it would certainly be the more secure way to do it." | It's possible that forcing a new version of iOS onto the phone would wipe it. Apple may have designed it in this way - and it would certainly be the more secure way to do it." |
| Apple said the FBI's demands set "a dangerous precedent". | Apple said the FBI's demands set "a dangerous precedent". |
| "The FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation," wrote Mr Cook. | "The FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation," wrote Mr Cook. |
| "The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers. | "The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers. |
| "Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the US government." | "Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the US government." |
| Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the California city last December before police fatally shot them. | Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the California city last December before police fatally shot them. |
| Analysis - Dave Lee, BBC North America Technology Reporter | Analysis - Dave Lee, BBC North America Technology Reporter |
| Apple decided to enable encryption by default to avoid precisely this kind of ethical dilemma. | Apple decided to enable encryption by default to avoid precisely this kind of ethical dilemma. |
| If it was impossible to access the data, the courts wouldn't even ask - so this approach by the FBI may have taken them by surprise. | If it was impossible to access the data, the courts wouldn't even ask - so this approach by the FBI may have taken them by surprise. |
| What is striking about Apple's letter is that it does not say whether or not the court's demand is technically possible. | What is striking about Apple's letter is that it does not say whether or not the court's demand is technically possible. |
| Some believe it is, via a process called a Device Firmware Upgrade. | Some believe it is, via a process called a Device Firmware Upgrade. |
| In fighting the court order, Apple will have the support of its technology peers, and perhaps the majority of its users. | In fighting the court order, Apple will have the support of its technology peers, and perhaps the majority of its users. |
| For the FBI, yet more frustration over an issue it feels Apple's skilled developers should be able to solve safely. | For the FBI, yet more frustration over an issue it feels Apple's skilled developers should be able to solve safely. |
| Follow Dave Lee on Twitter and on Facebook | Follow Dave Lee on Twitter and on Facebook |
| "We have no sympathy for terrorists," said Mr Cook. | "We have no sympathy for terrorists," said Mr Cook. |
| "We are challenging the FBI's demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country." | "We are challenging the FBI's demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country." |