MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In late March, the US Justice Department managed to break into the iPhone of the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, without the help of Apple and later withdrew its lawsuit against the company. The attacker's iPhone had been locked due to a security feature that disables the phone and encrypts data stored on it following 10 failed password attempts.
The FBI used information about at least one iPhone software flaw provided by hackers to access the phone by disabling the security feature and cracking the phone's four-digit PIN number, The Washington Post newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
On December 2, an Islamic couple — US-born Syed Rizwan Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik — attacked the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, killing 14 people and injuring more than two dozen.
Apple has previously refused to cooperate with orders to help the US government unlock Farook's iPhone. The company cited privacy concerns for its decision not to cooperate.
