The tech giant Apple is protesting a Los Angeles judge’s order to create a “backdoor” into its products after the iPhone of a domestic terrorist was recovered.
The FBI has asked the company to create a software that would allow them to access the iPhone of Syed Farook, one of two shooters responsible for the death of 16 people in the San Bernardino attack.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated Apple has complied with all search warrants and subpoenas, but refused to make this technology due to security concerns.
“In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession,” Cook said in a letter to Apple’s customers.
Theoretically, this would make it possible to try thousands of different passwords per second and, therefore, make it easier for hackers anywhere in the world to access data stored on someone’s iPhone.
The FBI has communicated to Apple that the technology would only be used on the one phone in this special circumstance.
“It is a big problem for law enforcement armed with a search warrant when you find a device that can’t be opened even when a judge says there’s probable cause to open it,” said James Comey, the director of the FBI, to NPR.