You don't need Apple, pay hackers to crack iPhone

The FBI paid professional hackers to crack the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone, it has been reported.

Researchers are believed to have created a piece of hardware which could get around the four-digit pin code jihadi Syed Farook used to get into the device.

They were able to design the technology after they found a flaw in Apple's software that had not been previously discovered, the Washington Post reported.

The hackers also managed to get into the phone without triggering a security feature that would have erased all of the data.

Sources told the newspaper they were paid a one-time fee for the work. The Justice Department said in March it had unlocked the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone with the help of an unidentified third party and dropped its case against Apple Inc.

It ended a high-stakes legal clash but leaving the broader fight over encryption unresolved. The FBI have insisted the phone could contain vital evidence on the attack that left 14 people dead and 22 injured on December 2.

The researchers specialise in hunting for vulnerabilities in software and then in some cases selling them to the US government, according to the Post.

The challenged for the FBI was getting around the code. After 10 incorrect tries, all of the data on the device is erased as a security precaution.

Now, officials in the bureau will have to decide whether to disclose the software flaw to Apple. Last week, FBI Director James Cuomo said they had 'purchased a tool' to crack into the phone.

He would not reveal anything more specific, but said the software they used only worked on the iPhone 5c, which has been discontinued by Apple.

Comey added that the technique would not work on the iPhone 5s and the later models iPhone 6 and 6s.

As the technique cannot be used to break into newer models, law enforcement authorities will likely have to lean on Apple to help them access the devices involved in other cases.

On Tuesday, Comey said he was glad the court fight was over as it was 'was creating an emotion around the issue that was not productive'.

He told law school students that he is confident that lawsuits aren't the best solution for resolving the clash between privacy and national security.

The Justice Department in February asked a judge to force Apple Inc. to help the FBI hack into an iPhone used by a gunman in the mass killing in San Bernardino.

Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to help stating that creating a master key to unlock the device would put all Apple devices across the world at the risk of potentially being hacked.

But it came to an end just a month later when the FBI managed to do it without the technology giant's help.

Comey says one benefit of the dispute has been greater public dialogue about the balance between privacy and security.

The Justice Department has asked a New York court to force Apple to unlock an iPhone 5s related to a drug investigation.

Prosecutors in that case said they would update the court by April 11 on whether it would 'modify' its request for Apple's assistance.

(In association with Mail Today Bureau)