The identity of the mysterious company assisting the FBI to unlock the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone 5C has been discovered. According to a report by Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth, the FBI is receiving help from a company known as Cellebrite.
Apple’s battle with law enforcement agencies has taken a back seat the courts have stayed the execution of the order that would compel it to unlock the iPhone in question. This was done to allow Cellebrite to try to break into the device. If the Israeli’s methods work, it is presumed that the FBI would ask the courts to completely rescind the order against Apple.
That being said, the end of the legal battle would not bring an end to the encryption debate surrounding technology. Companies have been in favour of increased encryption to protect the privacy of customers; while governments have pushed for backdoors into customer data for the purpose of national security.
Security experts warn that building government backdoors into devices would turn them into an attack vector for cybercriminals and state sponsored hackers. This doesn’t even mention the potential for governments to spy on private citizens – whether it is their own or from another country.
The current turn of events would only delay the inevitable clash of ideologies. While it provides a brief reprieve for Apple’s legal team, it is only a matter of time before the issue goes before the legislature and the arguments for (and against) encryption resume.
[Source: Reuters]
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