The FBI says they don’t need Apple

This week the FBI put the final nail in their court case with Apple over the San Bernardino phone. They asked the judge presiding on the case to vacate the order that tried to compel Apple to help them break into the phone. The FBI acknowledged that they were able to access the phone with the help of a 3rd party security company after all.

The fight over security and national security is not over though. PC World reports the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has identified 64 cases where the US Department of Justice has requested cooperation from Apple or Google under the All Writs Order to unlock mobile devices. 7 of the 9 cases involving Google asked for a password reset. 30 of the cases are from 2015 or later. This is in addition to 12 cases identified by Apple’s lawyer Marc Zwillinger in February.

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6255515/apple-order2.0.pdf

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3049714/us-has-asked-apple-google-to-help-unlock-devices-in-more-than-70-cases.html#tk.rss_news

Apple Vs FBI canceled due to Hacker

Remember that court case where the FBI was trying to force Apple to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter? Well, that’s on hold for now. This Monday, the FBI filed a motion to vacate Tuesday’s hearing and issue a stay for Apple to assist the FBI. On Sunday a third party demonstrated to the FBI a method for unlocking the phone without Apple’s assistance. US Magistrate Sheri Pym canceled Tuesday’s hearing and issued a stay. The FBI asked for two weeks to test the new method. The FBI must give the judge a status report by April 5.

There are rumors that Israeli security firm, Cellebrite who specializes in recovering data from cellphones, is the company helping the FBI.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/03/apple-gets-short-term-win-but-new-mysterious-fbi-unlocking-method-looms/

http://www.cnet.com/news/fbis-iphone-hack-help-may-come-from-israeli-security-firm/