• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGlobal 500

Apple and the FBI Could Be Headed for Another Locked iPhone Battle

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 7, 2016, 11:27 AM ET
Photograph by Sean Gallup—Getty Images

Apple and the FBI might be on a collision course yet again.

Speaking at a press conference in St. Cloud, Minn. on Friday, FBI special agent Rich Thorton said that the law-enforcement agency is unable to unlock an iPhone recovered from Dahir Adan, the attacker who stabbed 10 people in a Minnesota mall last month. ISIS took responsibility for the attack after Adan was killed by an off-duty police officer.

According to Wired, which earlier reported on Thorton’s comments, the FBI special agent told reporters that the FBI is currently evaluating “legal and technical options” to determine how it can gain access to the smartphone and ultimately retrieve its data.

The comments sound like preparation for what could be another legal battle between Apple and the FBI.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Apple (AAPL), seeking the company’s help in unlocking the iPhone 5c used by San Bernardino attacker Syed Farook. Apple declined the request even after a judge said it would need to create software to let the FBI unlock the smartphone. In an open letter, Apple CEO Tim Cook argued that user privacy was at risk and opening one iPhone could open the floodgates to the FBI accessing other users’ smartphones. He added that he was willing to take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While the FBI and its director James Comey came down on Apple’s unwillingness to unlock the smartphone, it found a way around the passcode by enlisting the help of an unidentified third party. It’s believed the FBI paid $1 million for the hack, which allowed it to gain access to the smartphone and all of its data. The Justice Department then dropped its case against Apple.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

However, the fight was one that drew clear lines between law enforcement and its supporters, and privacy advocates. Those in law enforcement argued that Apple’s move could put people around the world at risk, arguing that not giving the FBI access to terrorist data could leave the agency in the dark about a future attack. Apple and its supporters, however, noted that the FBI could do its police work in other ways, and providing a tool for hacking a smartphone could run afoul of personal rights and privacy.

With the prospect of the case being litigated in the highest court in the U.S., both sides had hoped to come to some sort of conclusion. Once the FBI found a way around the passcode, however, such hopes were shot down.

Now, the possibility of a fight between Apple and the FBI have reemerged. Accessing Adan’s data requires inputting the correct passcode or hacking the handset. Too many failed attempts at cracking the code and the iPhone will lock the FBI out of the device, limiting its chances at trying different codes. Accessing the data, then, requires either Apple’s help, a stroke of luck, or another third-party to step up and find a way in.

For more about Apple’s iPhone, watch:

Judging by its stance earlier this year, Apple is unlikely to stand up, leaving the FBI with the latter two possibilities. It’s unknown, however, if any company or hacker knows a way in.

In addition to the iPhone, Thorton said that the FBI has already “analyzed more than 780 gigabytes of data from multiple computer and other electronic devices,” according to Wired. It’s also reviewed his social media accounts and “other online activity.”

Neither the FBI nor Apple immediately responded to a Fortune request for comment.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

satellite
AIData centers
Google’s plan to put data centers in the sky faces thousands of (little) problems: space junk
By Mojtaba Akhavan-TaftiDecember 3, 2025
9 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
AIMeta
Inside Silicon Valley’s ‘soup wars’: Why Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI are hand-delivering soup to poach talent
By Eva RoytburgDecember 3, 2025
9 hours ago
Greg Abbott and Sundar Pichai sit next to each other at a red table.
AITech Bubble
Bank of America predicts an ‘air pocket,’ not an AI bubble, fueled by mountains of debt piling up from the data center rush
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 3, 2025
9 hours ago
Alex Karp smiles on stage
Big TechPalantir Technologies
Alex Karp credits his dyslexia for Palantir’s $415 billion success: ‘There is no playbook a dyslexic can master … therefore we learn to think freely’
By Lily Mae LazarusDecember 3, 2025
10 hours ago
Isaacman
PoliticsNASA
Billionaire spacewalker pleads his case to lead NASA, again, in Senate hearing
By Marcia Dunn and The Associated PressDecember 3, 2025
10 hours ago
Kris Mayes
LawArizona
Arizona becomes latest state to sue Temu over claims that its stealing customer data
By Sejal Govindarao and The Associated PressDecember 3, 2025
10 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 1, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Scott Bessent calls the Giving Pledge well-intentioned but ‘very amorphous,’ growing from ‘a panic among the billionaire class’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 3, 2025
11 hours ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.