14 DAY TRIAL // Today the FBI has announced that it has managed to break into the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino attackers, ending a several-month-long dispute with Apple, as the Cupertino-based company refused to help the government hack the device.
In a statement following the FBI’s announcement, Apple emphasizes that “this case should never have been brought” and explains that although the company will continue to collaborate with authorities and help them in their investigations, it will also work on improving the security of its products.
The company hasn’t specifically said it, but it’s believed that it wants to patch security bugs in iOS that would allow the FBI or other third parties to break into the iPhone. At the same time, people close to the matter suggested that Apple wants to build a hacker-proof iPhone that wouldn’t allow any custom software to be loaded on the device and be used for unlocking purposes.
“We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated,” the company said in a statement (which you can read in full after the jump).
More discussions against backdoors
At the same time, the iPhone maker has also called for more discussions on matters related to national security and technology, as it thinks that finding a balance between security and customer privacy is the essential thing that everyone needs to have in mind when considering new laws to protect US citizens.
“This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion,” Apple continues.
The FBI hasn’t disclosed how exactly it hacked the San Bernardino iPhone, but Apple is believed to be already working on a patch that would block similar exploits in the future.