THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S NEW QUARREL WITH APPLE
The deadly shooting of three U.S. sailors at a
Navy installation in December could reignite
a long-simmering fight between the federal
government and tech companies over data
privacy and encryption.
As part of its probe into the violent incident,
deemed a terrorist act by the government, the
Justice Department insists that investigators
need access to data from two locked and
encrypted iPhones that belonged to the alleged
gunman, a Saudi aviation student. The problem:
Apple designed those iPhones with encryption
technology so secure that the company itself
can’t read private messages.