Apple Defying Court Order To Help FBI Decrypt San Bernardino Attacker's iPhone
Apple is formally opposing an order from U.S. District Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym in Riverside, California, requiring the company to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two attackers involved in the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, both died in a shootout with police after killing 14 people and seriously injuring another 22 during the attack.
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Pym said in her order that Apple should provide the FBI with software to “bypass or erase the auto-erase function” on Farook’s iPhone. Apple is challenging Pym’s “unprecedented order” because it “has implications far beyond the legal case at hand,” Cook said in a statement. Apple is likely to formally file an appeal to Pym’s order, a spokeswoman said.
Apple has consistently resisted federal law enforcement’s requests to provide tools to decrypt the iPhone’s software, and Pym’s order would essentially require Apple to “make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation,” Cook said. “The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.” The Department of Justice has “made a solemn commitment to the victims [of the San Bernardino attack] and their families that we will leave no stone unturned as we gather as much information and evidence as possible,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker in a statement. “These victims and families deserve nothing less.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday that he is continuing to press Justice and the FBI for further information about encryption of mobile devices in the wake of Apple’s challenge of Pym’s court order. “Today’s news only underscores the fact that we need to work together to find constructive solutions to the Going Dark problem,” Grassley said in a statement. “Whether it’s a terrorism case handled by the FBI or a murder case handled by state or local police, it’s critical that we find a way that allows law enforcement to maintain its ability to execute lawful, court-authorized investigative techniques, such as warrants and wiretaps, which are essential to enforcing the rule of law and protecting the American people.” Grassley sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and FBI Director James Comey Tuesday over concerns that the White House hasn’t demonstrated “any concrete progress” in finding a solution to the encryption challenge posed by Apple and other tech companies. Justice has said it’s working with companies and industry groups to find a solution, but “has been unwilling to establish a deadline or timeline to establish the effectiveness of its case-by-case approach” to the issue, Grassley said.
The Software & Information Industry Association said it supports Apple’s challenge of Pym’s court order. “Our industry is committed to working with law enforcement to keep Americans safe, but we strongly believe that the government’s position in the Apple case will do more harm than good,” said SIIA Senior Vice President-Public policy Mark MacCarthy in a statement. “The government wants to force companies’ engineering staff to create malware that weakens security on a mobile phone’s operating system. But this position has massive implications for all software companies, threatening data security generally and opening up tremendous new opportunities for those who want to do harm to individuals and society. The government’s position is overbroad and unwise.”
R Street Institute “is encouraged by Apple’s defense of strong encryption and its leaders’ reluctance to abide by the recent court’s undue burden,” Outreach Director Nathan Leamer in a blog post. “Encryption is an essential tool that preserves the integrity of personal data and provides needed security of international banking and online commerce. Any effort to undermine encryption in one case will have irrevocable damage to the Internet.” Creation of a backdoor “wouldn’t measurably improve how police can investigate crimes that have already occurred,” Leamer said. “What it would do is expose users to vulnerabilities from hackers and other entities wishing to do harm.”