US President Donald Trump has attacked Apple over their refusal to unlock iPhones “used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements”.
On Monday US Attorney General William Barr accused Apple of not being helpful in an inquiry into a shooting that is being treated as a terrorist act.
Apple has set fairly clear boundaries and has stood by them. It has done everything it can without sacrificing its principles. If it were to decrypt one iPhone, it would set a precedent that would allow any iPhone to be decrypted. And it might also create a vulnerability that would let attackers, including nation-state actors, break into iPhones.
I think we\’re seeing a repeat scenario of what happened with the San Bernardino shooter a few years ago, in which the FBI made a similar request to decrypt the shooter\’s phone. The FBI eventually gave up trying to get Apple\’s help and sought alternatives.