Security News > 2020 > May > DoJ Again Asks for Encryption Backdoors After Hacking US Naval Base Shooter's iPhones

DoJ Again Asks for Encryption Backdoors After Hacking US Naval Base Shooter's iPhones
2020-05-19 12:12

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that the FBI managed to gain access to the data stored on two iPhones belonging to an individual who last year killed and wounded several people at a United States naval base.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray announced on Monday that the FBI managed to access the data stored on the two locked iPhones.

"The phones contained important, previously-unknown information that definitively established Alshamrani's significant ties to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, not only before the attack, but before he even arrived in the United States. The FBI now has a clearer understanding of Alshamrani's associations and activities in the years, months, and days leading up to the attack," the DoJ said.

Apple has denied refusing to assist the FBI and says the government's false claims are an "Excuse to weaken encryption and other security measures."

The encryption and security mechanisms present on iPhones make it difficult to recover data from a locked device.


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