WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A U.S. judge yesterday ordered Apple to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation break into a phone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the killers in the December shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ruled Apple must provide “reasonable technical assistance” to investigators seeking to unlock the data on Farook’s iPhone 5C. This includes bypassing its auto-erase function and passcode protection so investigators can try an unlimited number of passcode guesses.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. The company has five business days to contest the order if it believes compliance would be “unreasonably burdensome,” Pym said in her decision.
