Feds scrap Apple lawsuit in New York
Apparently, "someone" provided them the passcode needed to access a Brooklyn drug deal's iPhone.
The Department of Justice will no longer go after Apple in court in an effort to compel the company to unlock an iPhone related to a Brooklyn drug case. According to the court document US Attorney Robert Capers submitted (and obtained by Apple Insider), someone already handed the feds the passcode they needed. If you'll recall, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Cupertino in the state, using the All Writs Act to get the tech titan to comply.
Apple didn't budge and kept refusing to unlock the device, just like it fought the DOJ in the San Bernardino iPhone case. Authorities also dropped the San Bernardino lawsuit after they paid hackers with a history of selling software vulnerabilities to the government for a tool that cracked the device open.
Here is Capers' letter in full:
"The government respectfully submits this letter to update the Court and the parties. Yesterday evening, an individual provided the passcode to the iPhone at issue in this case. Late last night, the government used that passcode by hand and gained access to the iPhone. Accordingly, the government no longer needs Apple's assistance to unlock the iPhone, and withdraws its application."
