LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities said Monday that they might have found a way to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino attack, a development that could make Apple’s forced cooperation unnecessary.
In a filing late Monday, federal prosecutors asked to delay a court hearing set for Tuesday over the FBI’s demand for Apple to help unlock Syed Rizwan Farook’s encrypted phone. An “outside party” came forward during the weekend and showed the FBI a possible method for unlocking the phone, according to the filing.
Authorities need time to determine “whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data” on the phone. If viable, “it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple,” according to the filing.
For more than a month, the government and Apple have waged a very public debate over whether breaking into one phone would jeopardize the security of all encrypted devices.
