The battle between Apple and the FBI over a locked mobile phone continues to rumble on, even after courts told the FBI that they could not compel Apple to unlock the device which had belonged to Syed Farook, the San Bernadino terrorist. Apple insists that it must protect its customer's privacy, and so the FBI have decided that they must find another way to access whatever data is hidden inside the phone.

Although the Justice Department stated that the case against Apple Inc in regards to this specific phone had been dropped back in March, the end of this high interest legal matter has still left the issue of encryption on suspects' phones wide open and unresolved. However, with so many questions left unanswered, the FBI have taken it upon themselves to find a way to gain access to the phone without Apple’s assistance.

The method they have chosen appears to involve something they will only refer to as “a tool”. There’s no clarification on whether this is a hardware or software tool. James Comey, who’s the current FBI director, told delegates at a conference about high tech encryption at Kenyon College in Ohio that his agents had purchased the tool, which should give them access to the contents of Farook’s iPhone. He admits that he knows that the tool has limitations, and will not work on all iPhones. He knew for a fact that it could not unlock the iPhone 5s, and the next generation of iPhones, the 6 and 6S, and their Plus variants. Models released prior to that could be unlocked using the new tool.

No information was given about the source of the tool, either. The FBI director told delegates that a third party had come forward, offering to demonstrate their method of unlocking Syed Farook’s phone, and from there, his agents had been able to make the third party an offer to purchase the tool. The offer from the third party was made on the night before the country’s prosecutors had asked to delay the forthcoming court hearing about the encryption battle.

All that Comey would say about the source of the tool was that they were people who he “already knew a fair deal about”, and that he had “a high degree of confidence” in their ability to protect their tool. Comey felt that there were no suspicious intentions on the part of the third party either, as he felt their motivation for coming forward was simply to assist the FBI in their investigation into Syed Farook. U.S. senators have been promised a briefing about the way the tool works, but it is highly unlikely that this information will ever be released to the public.

However, there is currently a case proceeding through the courts in New York which could change everything for Apple. A suspect’s locked iPhone 5s has been obtained by the authorities, and may contain information which the police require in relation to a drugs investigation. According to a Reuters source, if it is decided that the phone can be forcibly unlocked, it sets a new precedent, whereby Apple could use legal channels to demand to learn how the mysterious tool works to unlock their product. What Apple did with that information would then be entirely up to them.

With the tool in their possession, the FBI now have the means to unlock many of Apple’s earlier phones to use at will, including discontinued models like the iPhone 5c. Should it become necessary to unlock later phones, it’s quite likely that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies will have to rebuild their friendship with Apple in the hope that goodwill alone will be enough to get them to bend the rules when it’s in the interest of national security. The FBI, attempting to get Apple back on side, have clearly stated that they don’t see any companies involved in the issue as being evil, just that “they see the world through different lenses”.

Apple maintain that they do not like being at odds with the US government, but their responsibility to help their customers protect their own data and privacy is vitally important to them, which is why they felt that they must fight back on behalf of their customers in this instance. They fear a future when personal data can be ordered to be handed over without any sort of protection for its originator.

If you’re concerned about security, you can be assured that the new encryption certificate on 1st Call Detectives’ website guarantees your privacy. As with all the work we undertake, security and discretion are of the utmost importance. We value your right to privacy, and have gone out of our way to ensure that security and strong encryption are at the heart of all our work both online and in the real world.