Apple Said No to the FBI. Someone Else Got In

In February 2016, the FBI asked Apple to break into one of its own iPhones. Apple said no. • The phone: a locked iPhone 5C. The FBI had a warrant and the phone, but not the passcode, and ten wrong guesses could erase the key for good. • The order asked Apple to write new software. Apple's answer: you can't build a key that only opens one door. • The day before the hearing, the FBI said it might have found someone else. In 2021 The Washington Post named them: Azimuth Security, a tiny firm in Australia, with a way in that started at the charging port. The price, per a U.S. senator: $900,000. • What was on the phone, according to reporting: nothing of significance. Full video (13:52): "The iPhone the FBI Couldn't Crack" on this channel. Sources • Order Compelling Apple, Inc. to Assist Agents in Search, ED 15-0451M (C.D. Cal., Feb. 16, 2016) • Apple, "A Message to Our Customers" (Feb. 16, 2016): https://www.apple.com/customer-letter/ • The Washington Post (April 14, 2021), on Azimuth Security and the exploit chain • Sen. Dianne Feinstein (May 2017), on the $900,000 price Should Apple have built it? 👇 ⚡ Wiredeep — the tech you use every day, explained in under a minute. 👉 Follow for more! #apple #fbi #privacy