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Confused as to WTF is happening with Apple, the FBI and a killer's iPhone? Let's fix that
Here's a clear, technical Q&A
17 Feb 2016 - Chris Williams

Everyone is losing their mind over Apple being forced to help the FBI unlock an iPhone. Just what is going on?

Relax, don't spill your almond milk latte. We'll make it crystal clear for you.

The FBI wants to unlock an iPhone 5C belonging to Syed Farook, who with his wife Tashfeen Malik shot and killed 14 coworkers in December in San Bernardino, California. The couple were killed by cops in a shootout soon after.

The Feds, fearing a link between the pair and Islamic terrorists, want to break into Farook's phone. But the federal investigators don't know the passcode and fear the device will wipe itself after 10 wrong guesses. The handset – running either iOS 8 or 9 – has also encrypted its messages, photos and other data, and a valid code is needed to decrypt the files.

So the agents went to court to force Apple to create a special build of iOS that, when loaded onto the phone, will allow the FBI to brute-force its way through all possible passcodes without the data being wiped. Eventually, they'll hit on the correct one and get into the phone.

Magistrate Sheri Pym granted the order [PDF] on Tuesday. Apple has five business days to appeal.

And Apple doesn't want to help?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has written an open letter – really, a blog post – explaining why his company will refuse to craft a special iOS for the Feds. The Cupertino giant thinks it will set a bad legal precedent. It would also be terrible PR for Apple, which has repeatedly stated in recent months that it cares about protecting people's privacy and security.

What is Apple being asked to do exactly?

According to the order, Apple must create a signed firmware update that will only work on Farook's phone: identified by its unique serial numbers.

The update will be loaded onto the phone, most likely during power-up via a USB cable, and will disable the auto-wiping feature in iOS plus remove any delays to the brute-forcing process.

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/17/apple_iphone_5c/