BY Mayowa Tijani
Apple Inc. says it would increase security on its iPhones, following the breach by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after numerous back and forth.
A court order by FBI had initially compelled Apple to create a backdoor for accessing the files on the phone of Syed Rizwan Farook, the San Bernardino shooter who killed 14 people in the US in December 2015.
Apple refused to “obey” the court order, saying it would create a dangerous precedence and breach many iPhones across the globe.
In a statement by Eileen Decker, the top federal prosecutor in California, the ministry of justice said investigators had received the help of “a third party” in unlocking the sophisticated phone.
“It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with co-operation from relevant parties, or through the court system when co-operation fails,” the statement read.
The Justice Department said it had “now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer required the assistance from Apple.
“Accordingly, the government hereby requests that the order compelling Apple Inc. to assist agents in search dated February 16, 2016 be vacated,” it said.
On the other hand, Apple said the FBI should not have made the demand in the first place.
“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.”
Apple said it would “continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated”.
Apple is said to have patented one of the best security systems in the world.
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