The Washington Post reported last week that the FBI eventually hacked its way into the locked iPhone 5c belonging to the San Bernardino shooter, and now we have an idea of how much it cost the FBI.
On Thursday, FBI director James Comey said the hack cost "more than [he] will make in the remainder of his job, which is seven years and four months."
Reuters estimates $1.3 million was spent on unlocking that single, particular iPhone.
Reuters came with that estimate by multiplying Comey's $183,000 annual salary by the seven years remaining in his position.
As CNN reported on Wednesday, there was nothing in the shooter's iPhone that was of interest or relevant to the FBI's investigation.
The identity of the professional hackers that the FBI hired is still a mystery.
The FBI's legal actions against Apple was a huge controversy earlier this year. The FBI issued a court order that demanded Apple to create a new version of the iPhone's operating system that could allow an unlimited number of passcodes to be input electronically. Apple fought against the court order, saying an altered version of iOS would undermine the privacy and security of all iPhone users. The FBI dropped its case toward the end of March after the bureau announced it had found a third-party to help it unlock that particular phone.
