Attention criminals and terrorists! The U.S. government apparently can't unlock and read iPhones anymore. The U.S. Attorney General, William Barr, inadvertently admitted this at a press conference. He didn't hide his dissatisfaction with Apple.
It's all about two iPhones from the shooter at the Pensacola base in Florida. There a lieutenant of the Saudi Air Force shot 3 people dead in what is thought to be a terrorist attack. To find out the man's motives and see who he was in contact with, the FBI wants to read the man's iPhones. One problem. The guy broke his iPhone while he was doing it. That problem was fixed; the FBI managed to get that phone working again.
The FBI just can't read the data. Previously, it could go to the Israeli Cellebrite, which had the means to crack iPhones. That method no longer seems to work because the American government knocked on Apple's door. It doesn't seem to be able to do much, because to date, the Justice Department has not yet managed to gain access to the telephone. To the great annoyance of Minister Barr, as it turned out during the press conference mentioned earlier. According to Barr, Apple "has not offered any significant help so far". He also calls on Apple and other tech companies to "come up with a solution to better protect American lives and prevent future attacks.
Encryption
Apple, along with many other tech companies, have put a lot more effort into improved encryption in recent years. For example, both iPhones and newer Android smartphones have encryption on by default, something that can only be turned off with a matching password or biometric authentication. This to the great frustration of the investigative services, which makes things a lot more difficult.
