The FBI has successfully used a mystery technique without Apple’s help to break into an iPhone linked to the gunman in a California mass shooting.
The surprise development effectively ends a court battle between Apple and the Obama administration.
The US government told a court that it had accessed data on gunman Syed Farook’s iPhone and no longer requires Apple’s assistance.
Farook and his wife died in a gun battle with police after killing 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December.
Apple did not immediately comment on the development.
A US magistrate last month ordered Apple to provide the FBI with software to help it hack into Farook’s work-issued iPhone.
The order sparked a debate pitting digital privacy rights against national security concerns.
We all know Apple finally gave in. No one is safe anymore.