Public debate FBI Apple hacking issue

LOS ANGELES: Apple’s deadlock with US authorities over hacking the iPhone began months ago and involves more than a dozen devices in 10 criminal investigations, according to court documents unsealed yesterday.

In a brief filed to federal court, Apple attorney, Mark Zwillinger, detailed a string of court orders beginning in October that directed Apple to hack 11 iPhones and another unidentified device on behalf of investigators.

A letter from prosecutors filed in response mentioned one additional iPhone, bringing the total to 13. Apple has yet to comply with any of the orders, the documents said.

A federal judge last week ordered Apple to help the FBI crack the encryption on the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife, killed 14 people in a terror attack on December 2 in San Bernardino, California.

Apple boss Tim Cook refused the order in an open letter published on Apple’s website, setting off a public debate about the competing demands of privacy and security.

An opinion poll published on Monday showed 51% of Americans supported the FBI in the dispute.

The revelation of the additional court orders undermines authorities’ attempts to downplay their request in the San Bernardino case. FBI, director James Comey, had called that demand for help “limited” and the White House had said it applied only to one device.

The FBI wants Apple to help agents hack into Farook’s iPhone by disabling a security feature that destroys data stored on the device after 10 failed password entries, so that the agency can programme a computer to try all possible passwords until it finds the right one.

Cook has said that would create a “back door” to the iPhone, which, once opened, might be impossible to close. That could have repercussions for Apple’s security in the US and beyond, privacy advocates said, because the case could set a precedent for other governments to demand assistance.

Cook has received public support from bosses at fellow technology firms, including Google, Facebook and WhatsApp. – ANA-DPA

PICTURE: REUTERS Packed rubbish bags in Jdeideh, Beirut, Lebanon yesterday. Lebanon has faced a rubbish crisis since last year, when a large landfill was shut down. Waste has been piling up near a Beirut river. Perceived lack of government action has sparked protests...

PICTURE: REUTERS An NYPD officer outside the Apple Store in New York yesterday. The FBI wants Apple to help agents hack into Farook’s iPhone by disabling a security feature that destroys data stored on the device.