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Israeli firm to save FBI from Apple knowhow

Headquarterd in Israel, Cellebrite is a subsidiary of Japan's Sun Corp.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is hiring an Israeli firm to open a backdoor to an iPhone belonging to a terrorist as Apple resists cooperation.

Cellebrite, an Israeli provider of mobile forensic software, is helping the federal authorities, Reuters reported Wednesday.

FBI has pressured Apple to roll back data protections to iOS 7 in the iPhone 5c used by a terrorist in San Bernardino, California, but the tech giant argues that it would give authorities the chance to access other iPhones as well.

The phone once belonged to Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, who killed 4 people and injured 22 others in a terrorist attack along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, in San Bernardino, California, on December 2, 2015.

The shooters' Ford Expedition SUV, involved in the attack. (Wikipedia)

Apple is currently engaged in a legal row with the US Justice Department but a Tuesday court hearing over the matter was canceled at the request of the government, saying it was seeking help from a "third party."

Cellebrite, a subsidiary of Japan's Sun Corp, may manage to write a new software to disable the passcode protection on the iPhone, which could put an end to the battle.

Furthermore, the legal row has sparked more conversation over privacy violations by the US government.

Activists hold placards reading "Secure Phones Saves Lives" during a protest in front of the US District Court in Riverside, California, on March 22, 2016. (AFP)

Surveillance methods in the US far surpass those of an ‘Orwellian’ state, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has said, referring to George Orwell’s classic novel “1984,” which describes a society where personal privacy is continuously invaded by spy agencies.


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