45°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

FBI says it used ‘mysterious technique’ to break into San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone

WASHINGTON — The FBI says it successfully used a mysterious technique without Apple’s help to break into an iPhone linked to the gunman in a California mass shooting.

The surprise development effectively ends a pitched court battle between Apple and the Obama administration.

The government told a federal court Monday without any details that it accessed data on gunman Syed Farook’s iPhone and no longer requires Apple’s assistance. Farook and his wife died in a gun battle with police after killing 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December.

Apple did not immediately comment on the development.

A U.S. magistrate last month ordered Apple to provide the FBI with software to help it hack into Farook’s work-issued iPhone. The order touched off a debate pitting digital privacy rights against national security concerns.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein

At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.

Man suspected in Brown shooting, MIT professor’s killing found dead

A man who is suspected of killing two at Brown University has been found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility where he had rented a unit, officials said.

MORE STORIES