The FBI recently said it was unable to access the iPhone of David Kelley, a now-deceased Texas hitman. Although Apple was initially blamed for the strong encryption it offers on its devices, it was ultimately proven that the agency was unable to breach it due to a lack of capabilities.
Initially, although the FBI itself refused to reveal the make and model of the phone used by the shooter, it is an iPhone and, as was the case with the San Bernardino attack, the agency is having difficulty breaching its security.
Rumors claim that the FBI initially had difficulty breaking the Touch ID system.
The phone was found by local law enforcement who attempted to unlock the device themselves. While it's unclear exactly how they attempted to do so, the device was then sent to the FBI's crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, where the agency's experts began looking for ways to extract the data.
The FBI didn't consider using the dead shooter's finger to unlock the Touch ID-protected device, nor did they contact Apple for help. Instead, they decided to turn to different methods, which resulted in Touch ID being disabled after 48 hours, according to Apple's iPhone security policy.
Apple , for its part, said that the company's experts contacted the FBI to assist with the investigation, but offered alternative ways to extract the data (accessing iCloud backups) rather than by breaching the password.
We hope that this time the FBI did not turn to a hacker to examine the device's data, as it has done in the past.
