San Bernardino DA: Seized iPhone May Contain “Dormant Cyber Pathogen”

The iPhone 5c used by Syed Farook (one of the San Bernardino shooters) may have been the trigger to unleash a “cyber pathogen”, the San Bernardino District Attorney said in a court filing yesterday, reports Ars Technica.

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This is one more reason why Apple should weaken the security of iOS by developing the demanded GovtOS, as the “seized iPhone may contain evidence that can only be found on the seized phone that it was used as a weapon to introduce a lying dormant cyber pathogen that endangers San Bernardino’s infrastructure”, the court filing by San Bernardino County district attorney Michael Ramos reads.

“The iPhone is a county owned telephone that may have connected to the San Bernardino County computer network. The seized iPhone may contain evidence that can only be found on the seized phone that it was used as a weapon to introduce a lying dormant cyber pathogen that endangers San Bernardino’s infrastructure,” according to the court filing.

This is the first time any law enforcement official has pointed to some sort of information authorities could discover on the handset.

Security researcher Jonathan Zdziarski, one of the authors of the amicus brief submitted yesterday pro-Apple, believes this is a game the authorities are playing to “mislead the courts into acting irrationally in an attempt to manipulate a decision in the FBI’s favor.”

The ugly truth is that the brief offers no evidence; it suggests only that a magical unicorn might exist on this phone”, Zdziarski added.

Apple is fighting a court order ordering it to bypass the passcode lock to allow authorities access to the iPhone 5c. The brief was filed on Thursday, and oral arguments are set for March 22 in court, and Apple aims to change the magistrate’s mind.

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