FBI Paid Over $1 Million to Break into iPhone

FBI Paid Over $1 Million to Break into iPhone

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has finally been able to get into the iPhone that was believed to be owned by one of the San Bernardino shooters, but based on the comments made by Director James Comey, was it worth the price?

In March, the FBI had announced that they had finally been able to crack the code of the San Bernardino device and successfully extract the necessary data to aid in their investigation. The case had created a lot of buzz based on the lawsuit the FBI placed against Apple because they refused to help create a backdoor in the software that would unlock the phone. The FBI was able to contract an unidentified third party to unlock the phone and eventually dropped the case against Apple.

On April 21, at a press conference, Comey said that the agency paid more to get into the iPhone than he will make in the remaining seven years and four months he has left on the job. According to figures from the FBI and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Comey’s annual salary is $183,000. Without a raise or a bonus, Comey will make $1.34 million over the remainder of his job.

The numbers suggest that the FBI has paid the largest ever publicized fee for a hacking job.

Comey says that he believes that it was worth it based on what the agency found, or didn’t find on the device. The investigators did not find any evidence that Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the tragic event, had been communicating with anyone else in the 18-minute gap that the FBI had said was missing from their time line of the attackers whereabouts after the mass shooting in California.

The phone also did not contain any evidence of contacts with other ISIS supporters or the use of encrypted communication during the period the FBI was worried about.

The FBI says they are still working through the data found on the phone, but have concluded that they were able to access data they wouldn’t have been able to know otherwise.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Security Risks for U.S. Retail Chains

    Interface Systems, a provider of security, actionable insights, and purpose-built networks for multi-location businesses, has released its 2024 State of Remote Video Monitoring in Retail Chains report. The detailed study analyzed over 2 million monitoring requests across 4,156 retail locations in the United States from September 2023 to August 2024. Read Now

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

  • The Stage is Set

    The security industry spans the entire globe, with manufacturers, developers and suppliers on every continent (well, almost—sorry, Antarctica). That means when regulations pop up in one area, they often have a ripple effect that impacts the entire supply chain. Recent data privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe and CPRA in California made waves when they first went into effect, forcing businesses to change the way they approach data collection and storage to continue operating in those markets. Even highly specific regulations like the U.S.’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) can have international reverberations – and this growing volume of legislation has continued to affect global supply chains in a variety of different ways. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge. 3

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols. 3

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3