The FBI has ordered Apple to help it unlock an iPhone 5c that belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters.
But Apple is refusing to help the FBI break into the phone. CEO Tim Cook argued in an open letter that "it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable."
However, we can tell from the FBI's court order and Apple's own security documentation what it would like if Apple decided to play ball and let the FBI hack the phone.
Here's the first thing you need to know: Apple doesn't just have a magic key it could hand the FBI that would unlock an iPhone. Instead, the FBI is asking Apple to remove limitations that make it impossible for the FBI to guess the iPhone password without wiping the device.
Here, via security firm Trail of Bits, is what the FBI is asking Apple to do:
[Apple] will bypass or disable the auto-erase fun ...
