As in that case, there is a dead gunman, a court authorization to gain entry to a phone, and an early stalemate between law enforcement and Apple.īut the San Bernardino investigation turned into a high-stakes showdown after a federal judge ordered Apple to help the authorities gain entry to the phone. over the iPhone of the man who, along with his wife, shot and killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. The Pensacola case resembles the 2016 dispute between Apple and the F.B.I. Instead, the government is seeking the data that is on the two phones, the official said.Īpple has argued in the past that obtaining such data would require it to build a backdoor, which it said would set a dangerous precedent for user privacy and cybersecurity. was not asking Apple to create a so-called backdoor or technological solution to get past its encryption that must be shared with the government. checked with other government agencies and its national security allies to see if they had a way into the devices - but they did not, according to one of the people familiar with the investigation. spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the letter, which was first reported by NBC News, but declined to comment further.īefore sending the letter, the F.B.I. Apple regularly complies with court orders to turn over information it has on its servers, such as iCloud data, but it has long argued that it does not have access to material stored only on a locked, encrypted iPhone.Īn F.B.I. “We will continue to support them with the data we have available,” the company said. all the data “in our possession” related to the Pensacola case when it was asked a month ago. The technology has frustrated law enforcement authorities, who say Apple has given criminals a safe haven.Īpple said in a statement that it had given the F.B.I. In 2014, Apple started building encryption into iPhones that can be unlocked only with a given device’s password, meaning even Apple cannot bypass the security. over what digital information should be accessible to law enforcement. The case could become a new point of contention in a long-running dispute between Apple and the F.B.I. Lieutenant Alshamrani is the Saudi Air Force trainee who federal authorities believe shot and killed three sailors at Naval Air Station Pensacola in December.