Apple has always been praised for the security of iOS, its mobile operating system that is considered by many to be one of the safest in the world. However, that might not be a good thing when it comes to law enforcement, given that the FBI has criticized the company for failing to help unlock two iPhones from a shooter during a police investigation.
According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the two smartphones, an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 7, belonged to Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who was responsible for the shooting at the Naval Air Force Base in Pensacola, Florida, which took place. on December 6, 2019.
Thanks to the invasion carried out by the FBI, it was possible to find evidence linking the author of the shootings to terrorist groups, something that facilitated the development of the investigation. Despite Apple providing iCloud data to help authorities, the Justice Department criticized the Cupertino giant for not providing easy access to the system.
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William Barr, US Attorney General, told a press conference: "Thanks to the excellent work of the FBI - not Apple - we were able to unlock Alshamrani's phones." The new case only reignites the "fight" between Apple and the FBI, which since 2016 has been asking the company to offer a loophole to access seized iPhones.
However, that request was never accepted, given that Apple claims it could harm users' safety and set other precedents. "We have always maintained that there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys. Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the security of our customers' data," the Cupertino giant said.
