The Justice Department said late Monday it may have uncovered a way to unlock the iPhone that belonged to the San Bernardino attackers without Apple’s help, according to a news report.
Justice officials cited in a court filing Sunday that a private group may have identified a means of hacking into the shooters’ phones and suspended a Tuesday hearing.
“Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook’s iPhone,” the Justice Department wrote in the filing. “If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple.” The Justice Department added that it would file a status report by April 5 on its progress on unlocking the iPhone.
BREAKING: FBI says it may have found method to unlock San Bernardino attacker’s iPhone.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 21, 2016
In February, a federal judge ordered Apple to assist the federal government in its investigation into the terrorist attacks in December that left 14 people dead and 22 more wounded.
Apple refused to grant investigators access to the phones and appealed the decision, saying customers’ privacy could be compromised if it weakened encryption standards.
Several media outlets reported Monday night that the Justice Department has asked a federal court to postpone a Tuesday court hearing on Apple’s attempt to overturn a court order that would force the company to help authorities gain access to a device used by perpetrators of the December terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., saying that the FBI may have found another method.
Apple CEO Cook has said that if his company assisted the FBI in creating what would effectively be a hacking tool, it would be equivalent to creating “cancer.” Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has also weighed in recent weeks, saying helping the government would be “dangerous.”
