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Justice Department Officially Drops Lawsuit Against Apple in Ongoing iPhone Unlocking Dispute [Updated]
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So apparently the DOJ is having a media call right now but refusing to answer any questions. DOJ won't say how they got into the phone or whether the method is classified. When asked for proof they they got into the phone the DOJ reply is they made a court filing. 
Matthew Panzarino's tweet about sums it up:
Government: Impossible to unlock iPhone. Apple must tell us how.
Government: JK we did it.
World: How?
Government: Can't tell you.
Matthew Panzarino's tweet about sums it up:
Government: Impossible to unlock iPhone. Apple must tell us how.
Government: JK we did it.
World: How?
Government: Can't tell you.
Really? Political language "is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
Screen shot or it didn't happen.
Funny, I'm much more concerned about the government not getting easier access to pervasive electronic snooping capabilities. But that's just me I guess.Oh Lord, FINALLY!!
Don't be fooled. The US gov dropped it because they can't get em in our country, with out laws, constitution, and people who speak out. But there are other countries that are pushing for legislation to require tech companies to comply, before they can be sold in their country. So if Apple wants to sell iPhones in the UK, they must comply. So they are using other countries to hit them in the pocket. This push for access to everyone's data is worldwide.
Next up in iOS 10: preventing NAND mirroring on an OS-level instead of relying on the Secure Enclave. If it gets attempted the phone is permanently wiped with no way to get to any data that's ever been on there.
I don't think you need to be worried as long as you still have possession of your phone.
But what I think the FBI ultimately wanted from Apple was to (re)weaken its iOS security so they could access encrypted data remotely.
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And I admit that it very well could be the case that the government's claim is bollocks. The best thing for Apple to do is to move to single-user destructible encryption that prevents loading of custom firmware anywhere but the data partition, that prevents installation of new firmware without a passcode, which prevents anything but screen input whilst locked and disables all output, and which allows the implementation of a burn-before-reading passcode.
Then it can reasonably put to bed any question about their OS being trivially vulnerable.
I highly doubt the data on this phone will be used in the US judicial system. This will be used to indentify, hunt and eventually eliminate terrorists.
The FBI is not interested in going through the court system.
One of two things happened.
Either the FBI is lying about getting in, because this was never about this phone, it was really about getting a method to get into any phone and it was clear to them that they weren't going to win.
Or,
They broke into it physically using techniques that would require incredibly expensive equipment and render the phone unusable. There is not a flaw in iOS that will allow your phone to be stolen and resold. But, they can get these hundreds of phone opened up now, so no need to pass bad laws.
Either the FBI is lying about getting in, because this was never about this phone, it was really about getting a method to get into any phone and it was clear to them that they weren't going to win.
Or,
They broke into it physically using techniques that would require incredibly expensive equipment and render the phone unusable. There is not a flaw in iOS that will allow your phone to be stolen and resold. But, they can get these hundreds of phone opened up now, so no need to pass bad laws.
Take-out pizza orders and strippers-to-go, the usual fare for terrorists about to do or die......
Underestimated all the public backlash just a little.
"Nevermind!" Haha!
"Nevermind!" Haha!
I heard on NPR this morning that Apple's lawyers had asked the government to reveal how they managed to crack the phone and they were told they would not tell them.
FEDGOV / Obama ran away from the fight. Again just like Iraq and Syria.
File for compensation for costs for ALL parties including amicus.
File for ruling on the original issue for public benefit. Bypassing the strategic retreat.
At least we didn't give the enemy $4B of military equipment like we did DASH (ISIL ISIS) in Iraq.
The court seeks "ripe". Amicus proves ripe aside from party interests.
Rocketman
File for compensation for costs for ALL parties including amicus.
File for ruling on the original issue for public benefit. Bypassing the strategic retreat.
At least we didn't give the enemy $4B of military equipment like we did DASH (ISIL ISIS) in Iraq.
The court seeks "ripe". Amicus proves ripe aside from party interests.
Rocketman
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So how do we know that the FBI is telling the truth? The case was not going in their direction. This might just be a face-saving move, and no precedent is set. That's likely seen as preferable over a precedent that is against their objectives...
Yes, and not in a good way. The FBI/DOJ doesn't have enough grace or decency to give up for the right reasons. This means they got into the phone using a very sophisticated backdoor hack. And Apple doesn't have any visibility into what it is.
I certainly don't intend to lose it or have it be stolen, and I don't think anyone else does either. Yet it is important that security measures be taken. I don't expect anyone to walk into my house, either, but there are locks on the doors. It being illegal to enter without permission won't stop someone intent on doing it anyway, and I'd rather not just blindly trust the public.
We don't know how it was done or whether it can even be patched (it was a phone with essentially 4 year old hardware). Now, if the technique can be used to break into the more secure A7+ phones Apple has a bigger problem.
So let me get this straight: your view and Apple’s view is that, on the one hand, it has no obligation whatsoever to help the FBI break into its phones; that it is outrageous that the FBI might ask a federal court to force it do so; that it has a First Amendment right not to and thus that Congress can’t force it to either; and that the FBI is on its own--even when it has a warrant--free to hack devices but without help from the company, at least to the extent that help requires writing code or offending customers.
But, on the other hand, if the bureau happens to manage to succeed in hacking an iPhone--say, with the help of an Israeli company--then it should inform Apple of the nature of the vulnerability so that the company can better secure its devices from future law enforcement investigations. To put the matter simply, not only does Apple have no obligation to give engineering help to the FBI, the FBI has an obligation to give Apple engineering help so that even the company’s most criminal users can be maximally free from FBI surveillance.
Pardon me, but if I were working at the FBI, this wouldn’t sound like a reasonable position to me. As you would say, It's Asinine!!
Um no, they dropped it because they have no legal claim since they now have access.