The government cannot force Apple to hack its own product. This is the ruling given by a federal magistrate judge in New York City regarding the investigation of a drug dealer.
According to Apple, doing such act would undermine the security features of all iPhones worldwide. Judge James Orenstein said the federal investigators cannot do this. He added that the government's argument imposing Apple to assist the government's investigation is against their will and it will never be justified. The government is relying on a law called All writs Act which the judge sees as unnecessary, as per Fox 59.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, Orenstein offered no opinion with regards to this case or others in that matter. He said that the government's interest in ensuring that no door is strong enough to resist lawful entry should prevail against the equally legitimate social interest displayed against it.
This particular incident started after a methamphetamine dealer known as Jun Feng was arrested in 2014. The Drug Enforcement Agency was able to get a search warrant to check the data of Feng's iPhone 5C. This will enable authorities to track down its customers as well as his fellow drug dealers. To the demise of the agents, Feng's phone is running on iOS7 which experts say is impossible to hack given that it has a passcode.
The DEA ask the assistance of Apple but the company refused to do so. According to Fox News, the Cupertino, California-based computer maker said extracting information from an iPhone could threaten the trust of customers on their company and substantially destroy their company.
Apple is facing pressure as it faces 13 other cases that need their assistance. These cases are, however, being monitored closely as this is a battle of the federal government against one of the largest company in the world.
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