US presidential candidate blasts Apple for refusing to unlock shooter's iPhone

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February 19, 2016 1:26 PM

James Comey, the FBI's director, told a Senate committee earlier in the month that officials hadn't been able to get past the lock feature on the device.

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Media reports reveal that real-estate mogul Donald Trump criticized Apple on Wednesday for denying a government request to hack into the cellphone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.

"To think that Apple won't allow us to get into her cellphone? Who do they think they are? No, we have to open it," Trump said whilst on an interview on "Fox & Friends."

The Republican presidential front-runner called it a matter of common sense: "I agree 100% with the courts. In that case, we should open it up. I think security overall — we have to open it up. And we have to use our heads. We have to use common sense. Somebody the other day called me a common-sense conservative. We have to use common sense. Our country has so many problems."

Months have passed since two shooters attacked a community center in San Bernardino, California, in early December, and law-enforcement officials are yet to get into an iPhone which belongs to one of the killers.

READ: Facebook, Twitter support Apple on encryption dispute with FBI

James Comey, the FBI's director, told a Senate committee earlier in the month that officials hadn't been able to get past the lock feature on the device.

According to the Associated Press, the encrypted phone is also equipped with a security feature that erases the phone's data after too many unsuccessful password attempts.

A US court has ordered Apple to develop software that could break through that feature, which would allow the FBI to try every possible password combination to unlock the device.

In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook published a strongly worded letter Wednesday calling the demand "chilling" and arguing that it "would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect."

The shooters had pledged allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh, right before the attacks, after which they were killed in a shootout with the police.

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