The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is playing the role of the White Knight in the law enforcement world, announcing Friday that it would try to help other agencies in the U.S. that need to open locked phones or other devices during any ongoing investigations as much as "legal and policy constraints'' allow.
"As has been our long-standing policy, the FBI will of course consider any tool that might be helpful to our partners," the agency told local authorities in a letter. "Please know that we will continue to do everything we can to help you consistent with our legal and policy constraints.''
The message comes in response to a surge of interest from state and local authorities after the FBI used unexplained methods to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. The agency initially had asked Apple for help - a request which the firm refused, arguing that creating a backdoor into its mobile operating system could expose millions of customers to hacking or snooping.
This refusal sparked a heated multi-week debate about security and privacy involving the biggest names in the tech sector, government and law enforcement. However, that debate - and the associated legal battle with Apple - has been temporarily laid to rest after the FBI recently managed to unlock the iPhone without Apple's assistance.
Interestingly, this announcement comes shortly after the FBI denied reports that it was assisting Arkansas authorities in unlocking an iPhone 6 connected to a double murder. It appears that by issuing this statement, the FBI is trying to assure police and prosecutors that while there isn't much information to share right now, they hope to provide more info and possibly help in the near future.
"That method for unlocking that specific iPhone proved successful," the FBI missive said, adding that the agency is aware that the difficulty of accessing locked data in criminal probes "is a substantial state and local law-enforcement challenge that you face daily.''
Of course, even with good intentions, the FBI still has its work cut out for them. The FBI acknowledged that its method of unlocking the iPhone only worked in that specific case, prompting the agency to test whether the method used in this case will work against other types of iPhones.
In the meantime, the FBI pledged to have an "open dialogue" with local officials, saying, "Please know that we will continue to do everything we can to help you consistent with our legal and policy constraints.''
"We are in this together,'' the letter concluded.
