FBI ‘pretty confident’ iPhone hack only works on iPhone 5C running iOS 9

Don’t worry iPhone owners, the iPhone hack the FBI bought from a third-party technology company will not work on any other iPhone models.

Probably. Maybe.

“The reason I keep saying 5C, iOS 9… this doesn’t work in sixes, doesn’t work in 5S and, so, we have a tool that works on a narrow slice of phones,” said FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday during a speech on Encryption and Surveillance at Kenyon College. However, he then quickly added, “I can never be completely confident, but I’m pretty confident about that.”

These were his first public comments since the FBI announced it no longer needed Apple’s help to get into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone and abruptly ended litigation with the Cupertino technology company.

We bought it

Comey also stated for the first time that the FBI had actually purchased the technology from a still-unnamed technology firm, which could mean the agency will use it again, even if it only -- they believe -- works on iPhone 5Cs. The FBI is also still considering telling Apple exactly where they found the flaw that let the third-party company hack the phone. “It’s an interesting conversation because, we tell Apple, they fix it and then we’re back where we started from,” said Comey.

The FBI is also still considering telling Apple exactly where they found the flaw.

Now that they have the hack, Comey said “I am confident [it] will be closely protected and used lawfully and appropriately.”

As for the company that created it, Comey trusts them, as well, to keep the details of the technology secret. “The FBI is very good at keeping secrets. The people we bought this from, I know a fair amount about them. I have a high degree of confidence that their motivations are very good,” said Comey.

Why they did it

The very public and weeks-long battle between the Department of Justice and FBI was not intended to send a message or set a precedent, insisted Comey, who also sought to paint many of their actions in this case as business as usual. The enforcement agency has long had many devices it can’t access and, Comey noted, the use of third-party contractors is not new. “We use contractors a lot, especially at the edges of technology,” he said.

Despite the acrimony between the FBI, DOJ and Apple, Comey insists that some good came out it.

“A good thing to come out of this: A world-wide market of people was stimulated to see if, ‘Could I break into an iPhone 5C running iOS 9?’ And everybody and their Uncle Fred called us with ideas,” said Comey.

The FBI Director is happy the litigation is over, but he said he hopes the conversation surrounding encryption, privacy and security continues. He noted it’s a complex topic and added that its one that “does not fit in a tweet.”

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