FBI Unlocks Latest iPhone Without Apple Assistance

iPhone 11 (Photo: Apple official website)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) succeeded in unlocking the latest iPhone of a key figure involved in the 'Ukraine scandal' after more than two months.

Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Department of Justice disclosed this fact in a letter sent to the Manhattan District Court on the 21st (local time). When Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born businessman, claimed that the government was deliberately delaying the disclosure of information obtained from his phone, the Department of Justice explained in the letter to the court that "it took two months to unlock the iPhone 11."

Parnas was an associate of President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani but recently turned against him, claiming that "President Trump was fully aware of the progress of the Ukraine scandal."

The U.S. government sent a letter to the court to refute Parnas's accusations that it was hiding the truth about the Ukraine scandal, but in the process, it also admitted to successfully hacking the latest iPhone.

Earlier, Apple-operated website 'Apple News' also reported last week that the FBI hacked the iPhone using Cellebrite software. Cellebrite is a subsidiary of the Japanese device maker Sun Electronics and an IT company headquartered in Israel.

The U.S. government had requested Apple's assistance to unlock iPhones used in this case as well as various terrorism and criminal cases. However, doubts have been raised about the U.S. government's claims after it became known that they unlocked the device through direct hacking.

Bloomberg News pointed out, "There are doubts about the U.S. government's claim that it needed Apple's help to unlock the iPhone of the Pensacola Naval Air Station shooter." Earlier, U.S. Attorney General William Barr classified the shooting incident at the Pensacola base as an act of terrorism on the 13th and requested Apple to unlock two iPhones used by the shooter.