Apple tells US judge 'impossible' to unlock new iPhones

Apple told a US judge that accessing data stored on a locked iPhone would be "impossible" with devices using its latest operating system, but the company has the "technical ability" to help law enforcement unlock older phones. Apple's position was laid out in a brief filed late Oct 19, after a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn (NY) sought its input as he weighed a US Justice Department request to force the company to help authorities access a seized iPhone.

In court papers, Apple said that for the 90 percent of its devices running iOS 8 or higher, granting the Justice Department's request "would be impossible to perform" after it strengthened encryption methods. Those devices include a feature that prevents anyone without the device's passcode from accessing its data, including Apple itself. The feature was adopted in 2014 amid heightened privacy concerns following leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden about NSA surveillance programs.