(Newswire.net — February 28, 2016) — After several days of media debates over Apple refusing to unlock the iPhone used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino case where 14 people were killed, Apple’s lawyers have formally responded to the court asking to cancel the request.
They stated that by unlocking the iPhone, it will set a dangerous precedent for the safety of all users, even though only one device at this time is being sought to be broken into.
Apple has always cooperated with the investigative authorities, but officials from the company have said that no court has ever sought to undermine the security of its products and to give personal information on their users to investigating authorities.
Apple officials have explained that this is not about one phone. This is a case on whether the state has the right to force companies like Apple to endanger the elementary safety and privacy of hundreds of millions of individuals around the world.
Along with a response for the court, Apple has announced more news – their experts are working to improve the security system on the iPhone which should make it further difficult to hack, according to the New York Times.
Apple experts were working on these changes before the San Bernardino case, explained a source to the New York Times, who wished to remain anonymous.
Thanks to these modifications, unlocking the phone will be a new technical challenge for investigators. This would cause a new round of court battles between the two sides. To avoid this, experts believe that Congress should declare what their duty should be in such situations.
Apple, as well as Google, have embedded an encryption technology into their phones, that they say protects user privacy so that even their engineers can not decipher it. This was done in order to fully protect the privacy of its users.
Representatives of intelligence and security agencies are very opposed to this move and say that this is an obstacle in investigating crimes.
The highlight in this confrontation occurred last week when a court ordered Apple to help the FBI and weaken the system of protection for the terrorist’s iPhone.
Opinions on who is right in this case are quite different. Public opinion is divided, even the presidential candidates have been dealing with this issue in their speeches.