epa05234176 (FILE) A file picture dated 23 February 2016 shows a security guard patrolling in front of an Apple Store before a small rally in support of the company's privacy policy in New York, New York, USA. The US Justice Department said on 28 March 2016, that the FBI had accessed the iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack last December and will not need the help of Apple to unblock the device. The news comes a week after a California court hearing at which Apple and the government were scheduled to appear was cancelled as federal authorities requested its postponement to test a possible way to access the iPhone. The move came after federal officials said that an unidentified third party came forward and demonstrated a possible method to accessing a locked iPhone, media reported. The announcement brings to an end a confrontation between the government and Apple that erupted when federal Judge Sheri Pym in mid-February ordered the tech giant to help the FBI access the information on the phone of the shooter, who - with his wife - killed 14 people in what is being investigated as a terrorist attack. Apple had refused to agree to the government's requests, after claiming that doing so would put the security of all iPhones in jeopardy. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
WASHINGTON: The high-stakes legal showdown between Apple and the FBI has abruptly ended, with no resolution to key questions about law enforcement access to devices with strong encryption.
The US government on March 28 said it was able to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino killing rampage, and withdrew its request for a court order to force Apple to help break into the device.
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