Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
iPhone Hack Answered Questions About San Bernardino Attack But Generated No New Leads
Breaking into the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook yielded no new leads in the FBI's investigation, but it did help answer remaining questions about the attack, reports CNN.
According to anonymous U.S. law enforcement officials, the iPhone did not contain encrypted messages or evidence of communications with other unknown ISIS supporters, but it did confirm the shooters did not have outside help as there was no evidence Farook made contact with a third-party during an 18-minute timeline gap.
The FBI has also concluded there was data on the phone it did not have access to previously, an unsurprising find because the iPhone was in use for several weeks after the last iCloud backup. Apple was able to provide data from iCloud backups to the FBI, but the FBI pursued the iPhone unlocking because there was no way to know if there was additional information on the phone without breaching it.
Apple and the FBI are continuing their encryption dispute over a case in New York. The FBI has asked that a judge order Apple to unlock the iPhone 5s pertinent to a Brooklyn drug case, which Apple has refused to do. While the order was initially denied, the FBI has filed an appeal and the case has yet to be decided.
Apple legal chief Bruce Sewell and Amy Hess, executive assistant director for science and technology at the FBI, are also testifying before congress this afternoon over encryption matters.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
According to anonymous U.S. law enforcement officials, the iPhone did not contain encrypted messages or evidence of communications with other unknown ISIS supporters, but it did confirm the shooters did not have outside help as there was no evidence Farook made contact with a third-party during an 18-minute timeline gap.
The FBI has also concluded there was data on the phone it did not have access to previously, an unsurprising find because the iPhone was in use for several weeks after the last iCloud backup. Apple was able to provide data from iCloud backups to the FBI, but the FBI pursued the iPhone unlocking because there was no way to know if there was additional information on the phone without breaching it.
Investigators are now more confident that terrorist Syed Farook didn't make contact with another plotter during an 18-minute gap that the FBI said was missing from their time line of the attackers' whereabouts after the mass shooting, the officials said. The phone has helped investigators address lingering concern that the two may have help, perhaps from friends and family, the officials said.CNN's report is in line with information shared last week by CBS News, which said "nothing of real significance" had been discovered on the device. As The Verge points out, the lack of useful contacts or messages on the phone has brought an anticlimactic end to the vicious public encryption battle Apple and the FBI fought over the San Bernardino iPhone.
The phone didn't contain evidence of contacts with other ISIS supporters or the use of encrypted communications during the period the FBI was concerned about. The FBI views that information as valuable to the probe, possibilities it couldn't discount without getting into the phone, the officials said.
Apple and the FBI are continuing their encryption dispute over a case in New York. The FBI has asked that a judge order Apple to unlock the iPhone 5s pertinent to a Brooklyn drug case, which Apple has refused to do. While the order was initially denied, the FBI has filed an appeal and the case has yet to be decided.
Apple legal chief Bruce Sewell and Amy Hess, executive assistant director for science and technology at the FBI, are also testifying before congress this afternoon over encryption matters.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Tag: Apple-FBI
[ 103 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
44 months ago
yawn. law enforcement never expected to find anything substantive on the phone. the whole "we need unlimited access to everything to protect you from terrorism" is, and always has been, a sham.
44 months ago
I love the "positive" spins they're trying to put on the fact that there was nothing of interest on the phone.
"We found nothing, but good thing we hacked this phone or we'd still be wondering!"
Reminds me of my paranoid ex girlfriend who I would catch snooping through my phone from time to time, and she'd always defend herself with 'I just needed to know if I had anything to worry about!'
"We found nothing, but good thing we hacked this phone or we'd still be wondering!"
Reminds me of my paranoid ex girlfriend who I would catch snooping through my phone from time to time, and she'd always defend herself with 'I just needed to know if I had anything to worry about!'
44 months ago
I would argue that the FBI, in wasting time and resources on this work phone, are helping the cause of terrorism around the world.
Any sane person would have realised long ago that there would be nothing on this phone of any value, and would therefore concentrate his focus on fighting crime in a more fruitful fashion. The motive for trying to force Apple to hack into it has been seen to be unworthy of the American government, and shows the endemic corruption at the highest level of authority.
As such, I recommend that James Comey is relieved of his duties.
Any sane person would have realised long ago that there would be nothing on this phone of any value, and would therefore concentrate his focus on fighting crime in a more fruitful fashion. The motive for trying to force Apple to hack into it has been seen to be unworthy of the American government, and shows the endemic corruption at the highest level of authority.
As such, I recommend that James Comey is relieved of his duties.
44 months ago
Since the shooters had destroyed their actual 2 personal smartphones (and computer) prior to doing their deeds, there obviously would not be anything on the Work Smartphone (that the manager would have access to) that they chose not to destroy.
44 months ago
Gotta love these fanboy replys. Because nothing additional was found on a terrorist's phone, it proves that law enforcement wasted everyone's time trying really hard to investigate a terrorist's phone.
By "fanboys," you mean fans of the Constitution, right?Even though most people here prefer Apple devices, privacy is platform-agnostic. I'm sure everyone would feel the same way if it was an Android phone in question – except that there's doubt that Google would stand their ground like Apple has.
44 months ago
And we just go merrily along ignoring the fact that the owners of the phone (the government) did not have a master password for their own device and somehow it was up to Apple to fix.
[ Read All Comments ]
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Vessel to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Signature 2.0 Backpack.
Vessel makes all kinds of backpacks, briefcases, and bags, but...
Discounts on the latest iMacs remain ongoing this month, with Amazon and B&H Photo now offering a new all-time-low price on the 27-inch Retina iMac with 8GB RAM and a 1TB Fusion Drive. This model...
Google and Apple calendars are not playing friendly right now.
As alerted to us by multiple MacRumors readers, there appears to be a syncing issue with Google Calendar and Apple's...
Apple Music today launched a new curated playlist called "New Music Daily," which as the name suggests, is updated every day with fresh songs.
Made up of "new music you simply...
Taylor Swift revealed today on Instagram that she will be the next partner in Apple's "Music Lab" sessions, which are available in Apple retail stores.
The Music Lab session will...
Satechi today announced the Type-C Dual Multimedia Adapter, which plugs into two of the MacBook Pro's USB-C ports to offer a handful of add-on ports.
In total, this includes: one 4K HDMI...
Spotify today announced that it is extending its free-trial period for Spotify Premium to three months, up from the previous one month that users would have to try out the paid service. With this...
OtterBox today announced a new expandable wireless charging system that it calls "OtterSpot," which includes one charging base that can power up multiple batteries and a smartphone...
