In the FBI"s fight with Apple about unlocking the dead San Bernardino terrrorist Syed Rizwan Farook's iPhone, Apple has insisted that its cooperation would jeopardize the security of millions of iPhone users. This was true, Apple said, even though the software that Apple would generate could be kept within the company but might "escape" nevertheless. I've been skeptical about this because Apple has very elaborate provisions to protect its proprietary software - its "crown jewels," so to speak - and protecting the particular piece the government is asking it to generate should be no harder. In other words, if Apple is able to protect its operating systems, its life blood, from hackers, why shouldn't they be able to protect the small piece in question?
But the government announced yesterday that it may have a method for unlocking the phone without Apple's help. So Apple's concern about the millions of iPhone users - concern enough to plead Constitution issues and to defy a government order - seems rather hollow since apparently the iPhone security has already been hacked.
The irony is that we probably would never have heard of the issue if Apple hadn't made such a fuss about it. Now that they did, the whole world knows that iPhone security has been cracked.
I have felt from the beginning there was a strong element of grandstanding in Apple's position, a certain pleasure in telling the government where to put its request for cooperation. Something that it considered would play well with its customer base, about which they were probably right. Now it's blown up in their face, a certain justice prevails after all.
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