Apple Inc. and FBI Case Finally Over – So Who Really Won This Battle?

The technology company did not create the backdoor software itself, but someone else did.

The long legal case going on between Apple Inc. and the FBI over encryption of an iPhone has finally come closer to its end. The Feds have officially decided to drop their request of unlocking, rather forcing the technology company to unlock an iPhone of a terrorist suspect in the San Bernardino Attack in December. The government has recently stated the FBI no along needs Apple’s help of the specific device as it has managed to unlock the phone themselves with the assistance of a third party who remains to be anonymous. Hence, they have concluded that the assistance of the Silicon Valley giant is not required anymore.

A quick review of the case that during the San Bernardino was Attack, an iPhone 5C was discovered that happened to be that of one of the suspects who were involved in the incident, Rizwan Farook. However, after obtaining the device, the FBI was unable to unlock it and hence was unable to extract any information from the smartphone due to the strong encryption that Apple provided. However, they approached the CEO of the technology organization, Tim Cook, who refused to create a ‘backdoor’ for the device. Since the company refused to assist in this matter, as they did not want to break the security of their system and jeopardize the security of millions of iPhone users all across the globe. Later, the matter was taken to the court by the FBI due to which a number of other tech companies in the industry got involved as well including Google, Facebook and Microsoft – and understanding Apple’s stance, supported the company and stood by it.

However, after a number of hearings, the court was about to make the final announcement last week but since the FBI found a third party to assist them in their endeavor, the FBI abruptly cancelled the final hearing and stated: they required two more weeks to see if this works for them however, it was finally announced earlier yesterday that the method was successful and they were able to unlock the iPhone due to which the case is officially closed now.

This ultimately means that Apple has won this battle victorious, but has it really? We think not, as the whole point of not creating software to not jeopardize the privacy of millions of iPhone users all over the world. However, now apparently there is a backdoor if the FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone. Tim Cook continuously emphasized on how creating software to unlock would be back for privacy, national security etc. and that is exactly what has happened. The third party has managed to create software (backdoor) that can break Apple’s security measure which was only there to keep the privacy of its customer’s secure. This puts a big dent on the security encryption of Apple, and hence damages a bit of the company’s brand image as well.

Apple Inc. is not working on knowing how this was done and they want all the details of how the FBI and the third party managed to break the lock in order to make its security more strong. However, now the officials are getting back at the company by declining to do so. They have refused to let them know who the third party is and how they hacked the phone which leaves the company vulnerable to future hackers.

However, despite all this, the company states that it is on the government’s side and will support it no matter what. And they have further stated that they will continue to support the law enforcement with any of their investigations as they have continually tried to do so in the same case as well. 

Apple Shifts Focus To Indian Market Now

The technology company is planning to take over the Indian market as it decided to open retail shops in the country and become the official distributor of iPhones.

Apple, Inc. has been smart enough to make decisions of entering the second most populous country in the world, India – as China faces slowdown due to economic conditions, the technology giant cannot afford to lose demand for iPhones. It has started to focus more towards one of the biggest countries of the world.

Although the technology giant has been discrete about the matter, it has been taking its piece of pie from India by investing in advertisements, improving its distribution system, making schemes on interest free phone loans and cutting prices. Presently, it sells its products in the Indian market through various distributors but now it wants to be the official seller in the market. To do so, it has filed a request on Wednesday with the Indian Government to run its own retail shops and start selling the devices online.

By the end of the previous fiscal year on March 31, the Cupertino, Calif. company had revenue generation of over $1 billion alone from the Indian market. Despite being so popular there, currently it only had a 2% chunk of the smartphone market. According to an analyst at Canalys in Singapore, Rushabh Doshi, India is a huge potential market for Apple to enter.

Previously, 118 million iPhones were sold in India and according to analysts’ estimations, this number is expected to rise to 174 million units by the year 2017. Initially, an Apple product would only be seen in the wealthy user’s hands in India but now, the company has decided to reposition itself in a way that it seems accessible to the middle class as well.

China has not started to show signs of saturation due to which Apple had to make this move and it could prove to be a smart one, as over 10 years, it could be one of the most important markets in terms of revenue generation. At this point, the company had declined to comment on its expansion plans but the chief executive officer, Tim Cook had initially stated that there has been progress in the country.

According to research by IDC, in a year’s time, India is likely to be above the United States smartphone’s market and second to China – since the market is growing and expanding rapidly. Around 35% phones being sold in the market are now smartphones, which leaves Apple with a huge chunk to conquer. The use of smartphones in the market is comparatively low because the people of the country tend to purchase and use cheaper phones.