San Bernardino
FBI Apparently Paid Under $1 Million for iPhone Hack: Reuters
Apparently FBI director James Comey isn't aware of the bill the government paid for the hack that cracked open the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c. Last week Comey said the agency paid more than he will make in the remaining seven years and four months he has in his job, which, converted into US dollars, would...
FBI Paid Over $1.3M to Hack into San Bernardino iPhone, Says “Worth It”
Have you been wondering how much the zero-day exploit that cracks iPhone security is worth? Well, in the case of the iPhone 5c used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, the bill was more than $1 million, according to FBI director James Comey, as cited by NBC News. Actually, Comey didn't give the exact number. The sum...
FBI’s Method for Unlocking iPhone is Unlikely to Remain a Secret for Long
The ongoing battle between Apple and the FBI over bypassing an iPhone’s security during a criminal investigation took an interesting turn last week, when the government said they had found a method to access the data on the iPhone without Apple’s assistance. Unfortunately for the FBI, this new trick for bypassing Apple’s encryption is unlikely...
Apple’s Help May No Longer Be Needed to Crack iPhones
If the government can unlock the iPhone using "an outside party", then Apple's assistance is not needed anymore, a letter filed on Thursday by the iPhone maker in a Brooklyn federal court suggests (via Reuters). You may recall that, earlier this week, the FBI asked the court to cancel the hearing in the San Bernardino...
Apple Hires Amazon Executive as VP of Corporate Information Security: Reuters
According to a new report from Reuters, Apple has hired away Amazon's vice president of information security George Stathakopoulos. The report comes days before Apple is set to meet U.S. prosecutors in court over a contentious encryption fight involving an iPhone linked to last year's San Bernardino terror attack. The report notes that Stathakopoulos has...
Apple Blasts DoJ After Being Accused of “Diversion” in Encryption Case
Today, the Department of Justice has filed its latest response (via The Verge) to Apple in their encryption battle over unlocking the iPhone 5c used in the San Bernardino case. In the filing, the Justice Department accuses Apple of deliberately increasing security to prevent itself from being able to comply with governmental requests. "This burden,...
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. This is one more reason why Apple should weaken the security of iOS by developing the demanded GovtOS, as...
FBI Director James Comey Hypothesized Kidnapping Apple Engineers in Latest Committee Hearing
FBI director James Comey was questioned about the iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook at the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. According to a report from Tech Insider, the hearing took a very sharp turn about two hours into the questioning. Comey was present to testify to lawmakers about why the FBI needs...
San Bernardino Survivor’s Family Speaks Up in Apple-FBI Legal Dispute
A San Bernardino terrorist attack survivor’s family has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the ongoing Apple vs. FBI legal dispute, saying that the terrorist’s locked iPhone 5C is unlikely to hold any valuable information, BuzzFeed News reports. Salihin Kondoker, whose wife Anies Kondoker was shot three times but survived the attack, has written in a...
Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Twitter to Support Apple in FBI Encryption Case
According to a new report from BuzzFeed, a number of tech giants have said they would fully support Apple in their FBI encryption case. Speaking at a congressional hearing today, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith said that his company "wholeheartedly" supports Apple in the ongoing case that's pitted the iPhone maker against...
Apple Says Apple ID Password on San Bernardino Shooter’s iPhone Changed While in Government Possession
According to a report from BuzzFeed's John Paczkowski, Apple executives shared key information about government missteps that may have led to reduced access to the iPhone in question. The information was shared shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion demanding Apple comply with an order to help it unlock the iPhone 5c...
Donald Trump Calls for Boycott Until Apple Unlocks iPhone 5c Used in San Bernardino Attacks
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Apple until it complies with a court order to unlock an iPhone 5c used by shooter Syed Farook in the 2015 San Bernardino attacks. Trump's statement is ironic given that his latest tweet on his personal Twitter...