www.zerohedge.com President Trump joined Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday, slamming Apple Inc. for refusing to extract data from two iPhones that belonged to the Saudi Air Force Lieutenant who went on a rampage at Naval station Pensacola last month, killing three.
“We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements,” Trump tweeted, adding “They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2020
Barr said during a Monday press conference that Apple had provided no “substantive assistance” to support investigators trying to crack into the smartphones. His comments are part of an ongoing push by the US government to make such assistance standard practice in the future.
Barr says Apple "has not given any substantive assistance" in unlocking the Pensacola airbase shooter's two iPhones https://t.co/b3LRFp18sG pic.twitter.com/MkTg6ZueJB
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 13, 2020
“We have asked Apple for their help in unlocking the shooter’s phones. So far, Apple has not given any substantive assistance,” said Barr. “This situation perfectly illustrates why it is critical that the public be able to get access to digital evidence once it has obtained a court order based on probable cause. We call on Apple on other technology companies to help us find a solution so that we can better protect the lives of American people and prevent future attacks.”
Yet, according to Bloomberg, the FBI should have no trouble breaking into the phones – as they can go either exploit a range of security vulnerabilities – or they can hire a company such as Grayshift or Cellebrite – the latter of which is an Israel-based, Japanese-owned firm which helped the FBI access data from the phone of the shooter behind a 2016 attack in San Bernardino, California.
Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, the perpetrator of a Dec. 6 terrorist attack at a Navy base in Florida, had an iPhone 5 and iPhone 7, models that were first released in 2012 and 2016, respectively. Alshamrani died and the handsets were locked, leaving the FBI looking for ways to hack into the devices.
“A 5 and a 7? You can absolutely get into that,” said Will Strafach, a legendary iPhone hacker who now runs security company Guardian Firewall. “I wouldn’t call it child’s play, but it’s not super difficult.” –Bloomberg