Apple won’t unlock San Bernardino killer’s iPhone despite court order

Thursday, 18 February 2016 2:12 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 18 February 2016 2:12 AM ]

iPhone 5c

American tech giant Apple Inc. says it will not unlock an iPhone used by one of the two attackers in San Bernardino, California, as “there is no way to guarantee” the move is limited to this case.

Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement on Wednesday that he would defy a federal court order that demanded that Apple help the FBI over the matter as they had been unable to get into the iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook.

Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, were shot dead in a shootout with police hours after the massacre in a Department of Public Health training event and holiday party on December 2, 2015, which left 14 dead and 22 injured.

*FBI agents walk through the parking lot as they investigate the scene in the building at the Inland Regional Center on December 7, 2015 in San Bernardino, California.*

On Tuesday, Apple was ordered by Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the Federal District Court for the District of Central California to bypass security functions on Farrok’s cell phone.

“The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand,” Cook said.

No backdoor!

Cook noted that Apple has “no sympathy for terrorists” and has already helped with investigations after the massacre.

“But now the US government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone,” said the chief executive officer.

*Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California on September 9, 2015.*

FBI experts fear losing the data on the phone permanently after 10 failed attempts to enter the password, arguing only Apple can solve the problem.

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

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk