San Bernardino Gunman’s iPhone Unlocked By FBI: ‘Mystery Method’ Ends Legal Battle For Apple

The San Bernardino Gunman’s iPhone has been unlocked by the FBI using a new “mystery method” pioneered this year to hack into the terrorist’s iPhone unassisted by its tech giant manufacturer, Apple. The legal battle surrounding the FBI’s demand to have the gunman’s iPhone unlocked began after Syed Farook, the gunman, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, went on a shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, at a gathering of Farook’s colleagues.

Gunman Farook worked at San Bernardino County’s health department, which was holding a training event and holiday party at a rented banquet hall when he turned the gun on his colleagues, killing 14 and injuring 22 of them before he was, himself, shot. The gunman’s iPhone had been seized during the bloody ordeal, and accordingly, the FBI requested Apple to assist them in having the iPhone unlocked in order to survey its contents for information on terror plots and key connections who may, like Farook and Malik, have been radicalized to jihadist tendencies.

At that time, Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to have the iPhone unlocked because, whether it was owned by a terrorist gunman or not, it was a breach of privacy which would thereby damage Apple’s reputation as a manufacturer of arguably the most secure devices on the market. In an email to the Department of Justice regarding the ordered unlocking in February, Cook said that Apple had “no tolerance or sympathy for terrorists” but noted that having the iPhone unlocked would set a dangerous precedent.

“At stake is the data security of hundreds of millions of law-abiding people and setting a dangerous precedent that threatens everyone’s civil liberties,” Cook said.

An external provider was reportedly contracted to assist in having the San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone unlocked by the FBI in a move that raised enough controversy to warrant a response from FBI Director James Comey. Comey made a statement — which was also sent by post to the Wall Street Journal — responding to criticism in one of its editorial sections about the government’s handling of the inquest and legal battle over the gunman’s iPhone and privacy issues therein.

“[Having the San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone unlocked] was not about trying to send a message or set a precedent; it was and is about fully investigating a terrorist attack,” said Comey in the statement.

Comey also explained that the FBI used a “mystery method” to have the iPhone unlocked, which was generated during months of brainstorming and problem solving inspired by the legal battle between Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice in an effort to extract data from the gunman’s iPhone.

“The impact of the San Bernardino litigation… [was that] it stimulated creative people around the world to see what they might be able to do,” said Comey. “And I’m not embarrassed to admit that all technical creativity does not reside in government. Lots of folks came to us with ideas.”

According to 7 News, the technique being used may have come out of Israel.

“Several news reports have said the FBI may be using an Israeli forensics company that has developed a technique to transfer data out of the iPhone without deleting the contents,” reported 7 News.

Explained: How could the FBI have hacked the phone of the #SanBernardino shooter? https://t.co/ObdhV0JaLS

— ABC News (@abcnews) March 29, 2016

It’s techniques like this that have seen the San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone unlocked by the FBI without the help of Apple. The question on every iPhone user’s lips now is: “What does this mean for the security of my personal data?”

[Photos by FBI (handout)/Getty Images]