Security News > 2020 > January > Attorney General Presses Apple to Unlock Shooter's iPhones

U.S. Attorney General William Barr is ratcheting up the pressure on Apple to unlock two iPhones belonging to a Saudi national who killed three at a military based in Pensacola, Florida, in December.

In comments on Monday, the attorney general labeled the shooting as an act of terrorism and accused Apple of hampering a counterterrorism investigation.

Earlier this month, the FBI wrote to Apple asking for help in accessing encrypted data stored on two iPhones belonging to the deceased shooter.

The FBI faced a similar legal stand-off in December 2015, when Apple declined to comply with its request to create a backdoor on the iPhone 5C owned by a shooter who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California.

A federal judge eventually issued an order compelling Apple to help bypass the encryption on the iPhone seized by the FBI. The FBI dropped its legal action against Apple after it turned to a third-party vendor to bypass the encryption on the gunman's iPhone.

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https://www.inforisktoday.com/attorney-general-presses-apple-to-unlock-shooters-iphones-a-13605