FBI appeal by publications over terrorist’s iPhone 5C into San Bernardino
By Prempal Singh
3 leading publishing entities in the usa, The Associated Press, UNITED STATES Today, and Vice Media have sued the Federal bureau of investigation (FBI) to learn who they paid and how much was spent to hack into the i phone 5C owned by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook. The FBI had previously refused to provide that information to the firms that sought it under the Freedom of IT Act.
Now the terno that filed the legal action say there is no lawful basis for the FBI to keep such records a secret. They will say the public has the right to know whether the vendor that helped crack the iPhone in question has enough security measures in place and will act only in the public interest.
“Understanding the amount that the FBI deemed appropriate to invest on the tool, as well as the identification and reputation of the vendor it did business with, is important for the public to provide effective oversight of government functions and help guard against potential improprieties, ” says the suit, filed in the US District Court of Columbia under the liberty of Information Take action.
The news of the lawsuit comes months after the FBI lost a court battle with technology giant Apple, who it had asked to break open the iPhone by bypassing security measures. The company not only declined to do so but also criticized the company for attempting to put the privacy of countless users at risk. A few weeks later the FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION claimed it got gain access to the phone with the aid of a vendor, the identification of whom it never revealed.