Feds renew push for Apple's help cracking iPhone in NY case - CNET

The New York case is one of a number in which the govement has looked to Apple to help bypass security on iPhones. The most notable involved an iPhone 5C tied to the San Beardino, Califoia, terrorist attack in December. In that case, after fierce resistance by Apple, the govement ended up getting a work-around from a third party. The work-around applies only to the 5C and not to later models of the iPhone. The FBI still hasn't told Apple how it got into the phone.

In both instances, the US has invoked the two-century-old All Writs Act to compel Apple to help. A New York judge had determined the act couldn't be used to force Apple's hand, something the DOJ wants reversed.

An Apple attoey said Friday that Apple will use the case in New York to determine what steps the FBI has taken to get into the phone. To be able to use the All Writs Act, the govement has to show that Apple's help is essential in getting information off the device and that doing so won't be an undue burden to Apple.

The New York and Califoia cases have some notable differences. In the New York case, the phone is a higher-end iPhone than the device used in San Beardino -- a 5S versus a 5C. The 5S has a fingerprint reader, which provides tougher security. But the phone is ruing iOS 7 compared with iOS 9 in San Beardino. The two-year-old software has less-stringent security controls, which should make it easier to get data off the phone.

And in the New York case, the FBI wants Apple to extract data from the iPhone 5S, not help determine the passcode, like in Califoia. Apple would have had to create new software to bypass its own device security for the iPhone used by the San Beardino terrorist. The company argued that doing so would be an undue burden and put all iPhone users at risk. In New York, it wouldn't have to create entirely new software to get information off the device.

The Califoia case tued the previously private dealings between Apple and the FBI into a public battle and started a broader debate over privacy and security. Technology companies and rights groups argue that strong encryption, which scrambles data so it can be read only by the right person, is needed to keep people safe and protect privacy. Law enforcement argues it can't fight crimes unless it has access to information on mobile devices.