Apple refuses US government request to unlock gunman’s iPhones, reigniting feud over privacy
- US attorney general called on Apple to help FBI unlock two iPhones involved in shooting at US Navy base.
- Apple rejects claims it did not provide assistance in the shooting probe
Apple and the US government are once again at odds over access to iPhones involved in a terrorist attack, putting the world’s largest technology company under renewed pressure to weaken privacy features that have become a key selling point.
The gunman, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, had two iPhones, and the FBI quickly got court approval on probable cause to search the devices, Barr said in prepared remarks discussing the government’s investigation. The attacker shot one of the phones, but the FBI was able to fix the device, he said.
The second phone was also damaged but fixed. Alshamrani died during the incident, and the handsets were locked with passwords and encrypted, so the FBI can’t access information on the devices.
“It is very important to know with whom and about what the shooter was communicating before he died,” but the devices are “engineered to make it virtually impossible to unlock them without the password,” Barr said.
“We have asked Apple for their help in unlocking the shooters iPhones. So far Apple has not given us any substantive assistance.”