Dive Brief:
- A federal judge granted the Department of Justice's request Monday to postpone the scheduled hearing over whether the FBI could force Apple to unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino attackers.
- The hearing, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed because an undisclosed "outside party" showed the FBI a "possible method" for unlocking the iPhone, according to court documents, USA Today reported.
- The government said it would file a status report on its progress in court by April 5.
Dive Insight:
Over the weekend, the FBI said it discovered a new technique to unlock the iPhone, but did not provide any details about the technique and Apple said it did not have any information about the agency's claims.
Though the issue over whether companies should allow the government a back door into their technology is temporarily stalled, the debate will likely surface again. And it is not certain whether the FBI's new technique will work.
"Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook’s iPhone,'' Justice Department lawyers said. "If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple Inc.''
On Monday, at Apple's product event, the company's CEO Tim Cook briefly addressed the ongoing encryption debate and said the companies believes "strongly" in its commitment to protect customer data and privacy.
"We need to decide as a nation how much power the government should have over our data and over our privacy," Cook said. "We did not expect to be in this position at odds with our own government, but we believe strongly that we have a responsibility to help you protect your data and protect your privacy."
