The FBI insists its iPhone key will be kept secret. Experts disagree.

Speaking at Ohio’s Kenyon College on Wednesday evening, FBI Director James Comey insisted that his agency's success in unlocking an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters would not put other iPhone users at risk.

"The FBI is very good at keeping secrets," he said. "And the people we bought this [iPhone key] from, I know a fair amount about them and I have a high degree of confidence that they are very good at protecting it and their motivations align with ours."

But Comey's confidence is not shared by digital security experts outside the government, and particularly within Apple itself. "Flaws of this nature have a pretty short life cycle," said one senior Apple engineer. "Most of these things do come to light."

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

And the FBI's own security record is far from perfect. In February, hackers leaked the names, titles, and contact information of some 20,000 FBI agents.