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FBI drops case against Apple over the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone

The Department of Justice has withdrawn its case against Apple over unlocking the iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. 

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"The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple," according to a court filing on Monday from the DOJ. "The FBI is currently reviewing the information on the phone, consistent with standard investigatory procedures," a DOJ spokesperson said.

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Apple and the FBI have been at odds for the past several weeks since the FBI asked Apple to hack past the passcode protecting Farook's state-owned iPhone 5c. Apple CEO Tim Cook's public opposition to the court order in February kicked off a PR battle that culminated in both parties arguing for their respective sides before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington earlier this month.

The FBI and Apple were scheduled to duel in California court over the lawsuit last week, but the FBI vacated the hearing at the eleventh hour because it was contacted by an outside party with the ability to unlock the iPhone.

In a call with reporters on Monday, a law enforcement official said the government was given “recent assistance of an outside party” who hacked into the iPhone over the weekend.

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The official declined to say anything more about the outside party, details of the hack, or the contents on the iPhone that were recovered.

Apple said that it "will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated." Here's the company's full statement:

From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought. 

We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated.

Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.

This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion.

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