New York’s top cop and the bombastic billionaire running for president both agree that Apple should help the FBI break into the San Bernardino killer’s locked iPhone.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump both announced their support for a U.S. judge’s Tuesday ruling that would force the tech giant to unlock a smartphone used by Syed Farook before his bloody terror rampage on an office holiday party in December — even though Apple called the court mandate a “dangerous" precedent
“No device, no car and no apartment should be beyond the reach of a court-ordered search warrant,” Bratton, who leads the nation's largest police force, said in a Wednesday statement.
As the threats from (ISIS) become more divergent and complex, we cannot give those seeking to harm us additional tools to keep their activity secret,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Trump scoffed at the tech giant’s concerns that the order would set a well-intentioned but ultimately “dangerous” precedent that could allow the FBI to unlock anyone’s iPhone.
Th“Apple, this is one case — and this is a case where we should certainly be able to get into the phone,” the businessman-turned-politician said on FOX News Wednesday morning, adding that information about the killer’s motive could be stashed on the device.
By default, Apple has encrypted its iPhones to allow them only to be accessed using a passcode.
FBI investigators have not been able to unlock Farook’s password-protected phone since his December killing spree. Federal prosecutors told the judge they can’t access the county-owned work phone used because they don’t know his passcode — prompting the judge to demand Apple crack into the device.e order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym requires Apple to supply software the FBI can load onto Farook's county-owned work iPhone to bypass a self-destruct feature that erases the phone's data after too many unsuccessful attempts to unlock it. The FBI wants to be able to try different combinations in rapid sequence until it finds the right one.
Tim Cook called the order “dangerous” in a letter to customers on Wednesday.
The Apple boss condemned the judge’s mandate, writing that creating a program to help the FBI could create further privacy issues
"In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone's physical possession," Cook wrote.
"The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a back door. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control."
He added: “Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government ...We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country."
U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden condemned the ruling — and lauded Apple for its pushback.
“The @FBI is creating a world where citizens rely on #Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around,” he tweeted.
Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in a Dec. 2 shooting at a holiday luncheon for Farook’s co-workers. The couple later died in a gun battle with police.
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