After hacking into San Bernardino iPhone, FBI to assist Arkansas prosecutor with similar request

A customer uses an iPhone.
(Image credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

A prosecutor in Arkansas said after he heard that the FBI was able to hack into an iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, he asked for assistance in unlocking an iPhone 6 and iPod belonging to two suspects in a murder case.

"The iPod had just come into our possession a couple of weeks ago," said Cody Hiland, prosecuting attorney for the 20th Judicial District. "Obviously, when we heard that [the FBI] had been able to crack that phone we wanted to at least ask and see if they wanted to help." The FBI has agreed to help, but it's unclear if they will be using the same method that allowed them to gain access to Farook's phone, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.