FBI director Comey says purchased hack tool will only unlock iPhone 5c units running iOS 9

The tool the FBI bought to crack the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone 5c can only be used on an iPhone 5c running iOS 9.

According to FBI director James Comey, the tool will not work on the iPhone 5s or 6 series, a statement Comey offered during a speech late Wednesday at Kenyon College.

The government is considering whether it should disclose to Apple the flaw that aided the hack: “We just haven’t decided yet,” he said at the Ohio college’s Center for the Study of American Democracy.

Over the course of the San Bernadino iPhone unlocking controversy, the FBI was able to gain access to the shooter’s iPhone. The agency has to date not disclosed the name of the organization or the hack that was used.

Comey said the FBI is very good at keeping secrets and the agency has a high amount of confidence that the people it bought the tool from are very good at protecting it.

Even so, there appear to be limitations to the tool the FBI purchased, which could only be used on a very small segment of the overall iPhone population.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via Macworld