The FBI gained access to the two locked iPhones of the "Pensacola shooter" and discovered collaboration with Al Qaeda. All without the help of Apple.
FBI Director Chris Wraycriticized Apple for not helping investigators unlock the two devices. Wray said the entire process of unlocking the terrorist's two iPhones took four months and a lot of money.
The Justice Department said that after the FBI's success, they were able to link Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, the Pensacola shooter, to an Al Qaedaoperating in the Arabian Peninsula.
Alshamrani killed three American soldiers and wounded eight others on December 6, 2019, at Pensacola Air Force Station, before being killed himself by local authorities.
“We now have a clearer picture of Alshamrani’s connections and activities in the years, months and days leading up to the attack,” Attorney General William P. Barr said today.
A counter-terrorism operation is currently underway targeting one of Ashamrani's associates.
FBI criticizes Apple
However, the FBI director said the investigation could have progressed much more quickly if Apple had helped FBI technicians. Wray said that despite orders from both President Trump and Attorney General Barr, Apple had not cooperated with investigators.
“Apple decided to design its phones in such a way that only the user can unlock the content, regardless of the circumstances. […] Apple’s desire to provide protection to customers is understandable, but not at any cost,” Wray said.
The FBI director believed that “technology companies are able to build secure products that protect user while allowing law enforcement access when there is a warrant from a judge.”
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He also said that “tech companies that strongly support warrant-proof encryption are hypocrites as they are willing to help authoritarian regimes if it serves their business interests.”.
“For example, it has been widely reported that Apple worked with both the Chinese Communist Party and the Russian regime to relocate datato enable mass surveillance by those governments,” Wray said.
Wray argued that if Apple was willing to help authoritarian regimes, then it should also help law enforcement.
However, Apple disputed the claim that it did not help with the investigation. In January, Apple said it responded promptly to the FBI's request, providing information to investigators.
This could be another power play on the part of the Justice Department, in its fight against American companies that oppose the request for legal backdoors in their products.
The Justice Department and the FBI had been asking American technology companies to add an encryption backdoor since 2015, even though they have products that could break the encryption of iPhone devices.
