The FBI may not have to tell Apple how it gained access to an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists because it doesn't know all the details of how the phone was hacked.
According to
The Hill, FBI director James Comey told a group at a cybersecurity event at Georgetown University Tuesday the bureau doesn't fully understand what professional hackers did to help it in the case.
That could be a reason for not telling Apple, which would benefit the FBI because its forensics investigators would be able to use the tool built by the hackers in other cases.
"We are in the midst of trying to sort that out," Comey said. "The threshold is, are we aware of the vulnerability, or did we just buy a tool and don't have sufficient knowledge of the vulnerability to implicate the process?
"We are close to a resolution."
The Hill reports that the FBI will soon send a memo the White House saying it doesn't know much about the tool it used in the case, which would prevent the law enforcement agency from having to tell anyone. A 2010 panel created by the Obama administration mandates that any potential cybersecurity threats — such as a previously unknown software flaw — discovered by the government must be brought to the panel, which then determines whether the manufacturer should be told of it.
After Apple balked at helping the FBI gain access to the locked phone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, the bureau brought legal action against the tech company — and then
dropped it out of the blue when a group of
hackers provided a way in. The FBI paid more than $1 million
for the patch.
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