FBI SAYS IT MAY BE ABLE TO UNLOCK SHOOTER’S IPHONE

Federal authorities said Monday that they may have found a way to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino attack, a development that could make Apple’s forced co-operation unnecessary.

In a filing late Monday, federal prosecutors asked to delay a much-anticipated court hearing set for Tuesday over the FBI’s demand for Apple to help unlock Syed Rizwan Farook’s encrypted phone.

An “an outside party” came forward over the weekend and showed the FBI a possible method for unlocking the phone, according to the filing.

Authorities need time to determine if “it is a viable method that will not compromise data” on the phone. If viable, “it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple,” according to the filing.