The Federal Bureau of Investigation agreed on Wednesday to share a new tool for hacking Apple products with authorities in Arkansas, a sign the bureau is likely to begin sharing the tool with law enforcement officials nationwide.
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Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said Wednesday that the FBI had agreed to the request from his office and the Conway Police Department that afternoon, according to an AP report. The agencies are seeking to hack an iPhone and an iPod used by two teenagers accused of a double homicide.
The FBI said last week that it had successfully bypassed the security on an iPhone using a tool developed by an unknown third party, but did not say whether it intended to share the tool with other law enforcement agencies. Wednesday’s announcement seems to indicate that sharing will take place, affecting potentially hundreds of cases around the nation.
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The tool developed was successfully used to hack an iPhone 5c running an iOS 9 operating system. It is not clear whether that tool will work on newer iPhones or operating systems. The phone in Arkansas was seized in July, which means the operating system was, at best, iOS 8.3. Even that archaic system, while vulnerable to hacking experts around the world, remained impenetrable for the FBI until last week.
