Apple Fighting Court Order To Build ‘Back Door’ To iPhone

The federal government’s court order demanding that Apple construct a “back door” into encrypted iPhones has “no precedent,” the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook wrote in an open letter. A U.S. District Judge this week said Apple needed to modify iPhone software to allow the government to access a device that belonged to one of the shooters in December’s San Bernadino terrorist attacks. Cook said the company plans to fight the order, which he characterized as “[A]n American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack.” Doing so, he said, “would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data.” Cook also protested the five-day timeline set forth in the order, calling it “unreasonably burdensome.”