"Apple appears to object based on a combination of a perceived negative impact on its reputation and marketing strategy…numerous mischaracterizations of the requirements of the order, and an incorrect understanding of [the law],’’ the prosecutors said Friday, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.
On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a public letter that he would not comply with the order to help the FBI break into the phone. Cook said that the FBI had asked the company to build a new version of the iPhone operating system and software that would allow authorities to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession. The CEO explained that building such a back door would hand the equivalent of a "master key" to cyber criminals and bad actors that could potentially open "hundreds of millions" of locks.
On December 2, a radical Islamic couple US-born Syed Rizwan Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik opened fire on the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino killing 14 people and injuring at least 20 others.
