Apple gets to fight judge's iPhone-cracking order another day - CNET

The stakes here are high, with the case pitting issues of national security against regard for the privacy of everyday consumers. The standoff also tus up the heat on the simmering tensions over encryption -- the technology that scrambles information to prevent unauthorized readers from seeing it -- between Washington and Silicon Valley.

Cook has drawn support from high-tech honchos including the CEOs of Google and Twitter, along with privacy watchdogs such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Criticism of the Cupertino, Califoia, company's stance has been equally fervent. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, for one, urged Apple to drop its guard. "Who do they think they are? They have to open it up," he said. "We have to use common sense."

To get access to the innards of the iPhone in the San Beardino case, the FBI wants Apple to build a new version of its iOS software that would bypass the iPhone's security features and create what Cook has described as "the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone's physical possession."

The FBI is trying to access an iPhone 5C used by one of the perpetrators of the December terrorist attack in San Beardino that killed 14 people and injured 22 others. Cook said Apple engineers have been working with the FBI since the attack and have "offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal."

The FBI's plan would bypass security functions that limit how many times you can enter an incorrect password. Currently, an iPhone wipes itself if the wrong password is entered 10 times in a row. With that feature disabled, investigators could enter password after password until they hit on the correct one.

Apple is willing to challenge the govement all the way to the Supreme Court, according to CBS News, citing unnamed sources. (Editors' note: CBS is the parent company of CNET.)

Rallying cry: Standing with Apple against...

1 - 5 of 7

Next Prev