Similar to the San Bernadino shooting of almost two years ago, Apple has officially been served with a search warrant for access to the iPhone SE used by the man responsible for the Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting. The move comes after an earlier fumble that saw the Texas Rangers and FBI fail to act within 48 hours to unlock the device in question with Touch ID…
The Texas Rangers served Apple with a warrant to access both David Kelley’s iPhone SE and iCloud account. The Rangers have also expressed interest in a second phone used by Kelley made by LG. Apple stated earlier this month that it contacted law enforcement officials roughly 48 hours after the shooting to see if it could be of any help. During that first 48 hours, when Touch ID would have still been enabled, law enforcement made no efforts to ask Apple for help or to use Touch ID to unlock the phone. Instead, it shipped the device off to a crime lab in Quantico, Virginia.
Where Kelley’s iCloud data is concerned, while Apple typically provides tools to help law enforcement officials access this data as well as decrypt it, the 48 hour time limit may have set efforts back. The company is not expected to create the tool necessary to unlock the iPhone SE.
In the now-infamous case of the iPhone 5C used by the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone, Apple wound up not creating a tool that would compromise the security of every iPhone, but shipped the device to the FBI, which used a tool created by a third-party to unlock the phone, but no information was found.
Apple has yet to officially respond to the search warrant from the Texas Rangers.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac and Fast Company