The U.S. fired back at to help the FBI unlock a terrorist’s iPhone.
On Friday, the Justice Department asked the judge to compel Apple to cooperate, saying Cook had made it clear the company wouldn’t willingly comply with an earlier order to help unlock the phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who died after a terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif., that killed 14 people in December.
Apple’s resistance is “based on its concern for its business model and public brand marketing strategy,” prosecutors said in a filing in federal court in Riverside, Calif., adding Apple “is not above the law.”
Clearly frustrated with Apple’s intransigence, the government submitted its demand a week before Apple’s deadline to respond to the judge’s earlier order.
Advancing its case in the courts of both law and public opinion, the Justice Department essentially said the company has placed its profits and popularity ahead of the public’s safety. Prosecutors expanded on their initial request while picking apart Apple’s defense, as explained in a letter Cook published on the company’s website this week.
Cook said that obeying the order and helping to unlock the phone would create a back door to its devices. He called the judge’s move a “chilling” attack on civil liberties.
The U.S. countered Cook’s arguments Friday, saying “the assistance ordered is not a ‘back door’ or a ‘hack’ to all of Apple’s encryption software.”
Citing the urgency of this investigation, the Justice Department said it’s seeking the ruling because Cook’s posting made it “patently clear” that Apple will fight the earlier order.
Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Apple, didn’t answer a call seeking comment.
Prosecutors want Apple to provide customized software that will prevent the data on the phone from being deleted after 10 attempts to input the password.
It would also enable agents to send electronic entry codes to the phone, rather than manually typing them in, and allow them to automatically enter multiple passcodes to get around the encryption standards.
The U.S. said Apple had previously complied with prosecutors when they had a court order under the All Writs Act, a law that compels third parties to take “nonburdensome” steps to help law enforcement carry out search warrants.
That cooperation changed recently with new iterations of the iPhone’s operating system, the U.S. said. It pointed to a case last year involving a drug dealer in Brooklyn where Apple said it might “tarnish” its brand if it helps the U.S. unlock phones.
Apple’s real concern is protecting its image as a champion of customer privacy, the U.S. said, arguing it has the technical capabilities to unlock “the phone of a mass murderer.”
It wouldn’t be an “undue burden” for Apple to create unique software to work around the phone’s security functions, the Justice Department said, and other companies have been helpful in similar cases where prosecutors sought help unlocking encrypted computer data.
The U.S. also attacked Cook’s arguments that complying with the order would leave other devices vulnerable to government snooping, saying Apple would keep custody of the software and can destroy it afterward.
The Justice Department isn’t interested in sweeping new powers, just in obtaining isolated pieces of information through a process that is similar to the way it has obtained data from Apple about its customers for years, according to the filing.
“Unless this court enforces the order requiring Apple’s assistance, the warrant will be meaningless,” prosecutors said, calling it “the most fundamental investigative tool of all.”
Like many technology companies, Apple provides information about its customers to the government when issued a warrant or subpoena. The files include e-mail, iTunes and App Store purchases, pictures, old text messages and other files stored within iCloud, according to law enforcement guidelines published on the company’s website.
Apple has until Friday to file its response to the original order. A hearing is set for March 22.
