Court Order In San Bernardino Case Could Force Apple To Jeopardize Phone Security

Cyber security experts warned Wednesday that the battle over a court order requiring Apple to help the FBI access encrypted data on a cellphone belonging to the couple who killed 14 people in San Bernardino will have far-reaching consequences for the tech industry.

The dispute, the latest chapter in a long-brewing battle between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., over the tech industry's role in combating terror plots, will now shift from a philosophical disagreement to a very real courthouse fight after Apple said it would not comply with the order.

In an open letter published early Wednesday morning, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook vowed to fight the directive issued earlier this week and said the FBI's call for the company to help defeat security measures on a phone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook would be a major blow to customer privacy.

"Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor," Cook wrote. "And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control."

On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym in Riverside directed Apple to help the FBI get around the phone's passcode protection and the device's auto-erase function, which would permanently destroy any encrypted data on the phone after 10 unsuccessful login attempts.

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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-apple-san-bernardino-security-20160217-story.html