Cyber Experts Weigh in On Apple’s Recent Beef With FBI

The first shots have been fired in dispute that is unlikely to end soon. Apple's recent decision to actively resist a court order to lend a hand to FBI's attempt to hack into San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook's iPhone. This time though, IT security and cyber warfare experts have joined the debate that will inevitably have serious implications in the future.

As Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated, he feared that caving in to FBI pressure today will have far greater unforeseen repercussions tomorrow.

"In the wrong hands, this software - which does not exist today - would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone's physical possession. Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control," Cook said in a statement as quoted by CNBC.

As Apple's dispute with FBI has created an ongoing media firestorm, mobile security expert, respected iOS hacker, and Sudo Security Group CEO Will Strafach understood well Apple's predicament which is also true for all other tech companies saying that "the FBI has laid a clever trap for Apple."

"The aspect that would actually affect the public is the fact that by doing this, Apple will show that breaking into an iPhone is "possible," and allow the FBI to use this case in the future as leverage...if Apple assists in this instance, then it paves the way for more unreasonable and technically difficult requests to be made. In those scenarios, it will be on Apple to try to explain why it cannot accommodate the new requests," Strafach said in an insightful article he contributed to BGR.

In addition, cyber warfare expert David Gewirtz also commented that if Apple succumbs, it will potentially risk private information as there is no assurance that guarantees absolute protection from all forms of security breaches.

"Neither Apple nor the government can be sure that a tool designed to break into iPhone security will never fall into the wrong hands...if Apple were to comply this once, it sets a very dangerous and far-reaching precedent that may not be as clear cut in the future," Gewirtz wrote for ZDNet.

Echoing Apple's position, some known Silicon Valley companies have been silently supporting the iPhone maker's stance on the issue.

"Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users' privacy," said Google CEO Sundar Pichai as quoted by CBS News.