From ComputerWorld: Apple's CEO Tim Cook reacted sharply to a federal court order in the U.S. that would require the company to help the FBI search the contents of an iPhone 5c seized from Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2. that killed 14 people.
The U.S. government "has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers," Cook wrote in an open letter to customers posted on Apple's website on Wednesday. He added that the moment called for a public discussion and he wanted customers and people around the country "to understand what is at stake."
The tech industry has been increasingly using encryption in its products and services. The move has been criticized by U.S. government officials, including FBI Director James Comey, who say that it makes it more difficult for them to track terrorists who take cover under the encryption. The industry has taken the stand that encryption protects individual privacy and it opposes any mandatory backdoors.
After the government told the court that investigaters were stymied by an auto-erasure feature in the iPhone that could erase data after 10 unsuccessful tries to crack the iPhone passcode, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday ordered Apple to offer its technical assistance, including if required by providing signed software, to bypass or disable the auto-erase function whether or not it has been turned on in the device. That would enable FBI investigators to try different combinations to break the passcode and get to the data.
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