Apple and the FBI's Row Over Unlocking Attacker's iPhone: 5 Things to Know

Apple and the federal government are involved in a key battle about privacy in the digital age that experts say could have implications that go beyond the investigation of the San Bernardino shooting if the government gets its way. Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook rebuffed the order of a federal judge in Riverside ordering the company to help the FBI in unlocking a iPhone that belonged to a husband and wife who went on a shooting spree in San Bernardino last year, killing 14 people.

In an open letter, Cook wrote that while the company has no sympathy for terrorists, it simply does not have what the government is demanding and creating a software that could get around encryption installed on an iPhone would be too dangerous. He said the move would set a dangerous precedent for the kind of demands the government could make in the future. In a call with reporters, an Apple executive said if the FBI were successful in its request it would lead to similar requests from prosecutors nationwide.

“And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control,” Cook wrote in the letter.

Authorities are trying to determine the couple’s movements between the time of the attack and their deaths in a battle with police hours later. The FBI also wants to know if the two received help planning or carrying out the strike.

Syed Rizwan Farook, the husband, apparently turned off the phone’s iCloud remote storage function some six weeks before the shooting, according to a government memo, which said he may have done it to conceal evidence.

FBI Director James Comey issued a statement on the matter saying the agency owed it to the victims to conduct a thorough and professional investigation under law.

Here are five things about the case you should know:

Motion to Compel

Federal prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to compel Apple to comply with the order. Apple has opposed the court order and will file an application for relief, which is due in court Feb. 26, USA Today reported. The government then has to file a response March 10 and Apple would then have till March 15 to once again respond. A hearing will then be held March 22 at the federal courthouse in Riverside.

All Writs Act of 1789

The government filed the motion under the “All Writs Act of 1789,” which “is a residual source of authority to issue writs [court orders] that are not otherwise covered by statute.” An article in Vice Magazine explains this does not mean the government can use the act to get whatever it wants as the Supreme Court has said “Where a statute specifically addresses the particular issue at hand, it is that authority, and not the All Writs Act that is controlling.” The act can also not be used if the order would be too burdensome. The government has said that writing new code should not be an undue burden for the company since Apple writes code all the time.

Apple Says Passcode Changed After Phone Was in Government Possession

Apple has said the passcode for the iPhone in question was changed after the government gained possession of the device, a claim that Justice Department has not denied, multiples news outlets including BuzzFeed and ABC News have reported. The government said the passcode was changed to prevent the possibility of a back-up of the information stored on the phone.

Tech Industry Stands with Apple

The tech industry and privacy advocates have rallied behind Apple. Google CEO Sundar Pichai supported Cook’s decision saying while tech companies give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders, that was wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey echoed the sentiment, as did WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum.

While not specifically referencing the Apple case, Facebook issued a statement saying the company will “continue to fight aggressively against requirements for companies to weaken the security of their systems.”

Several other companies have also supported the decision.

Glenn Greenwald, an outspoken critic of surveillance, who helped expose the mass surveillance being conducted by the NSA, based on classified documents obtained by Edward Snowden weighed in on the issue.

John McAfee Offers to Help

In an op-ed published on Business Insider, cybersecurity expert and antivirus software founder John McAfee offered to decrypt the information on the phone free of charge, saying it would take him three weeks to decrypt the information with his team of hackers.

“If you accept my offer, then you will not need to ask Apple to place a back door in its product, which will be the beginning of the end of America,” McAfee wrote in the op-ed.

Image: Apple CEO Tim Cook after Macworld 2009 Expo keynote, Image Credit: Valery Marchive via Flickr Creative Commons