Apple says it is "impossible" to unlock newer iPhones

Apple is resisting an attempt by the US Justice Department to force it to help authorities access information inside a locked iPhone, and has stated that it is impossible to do so with its newer operating systems.

In a brief filed with a New York court this week, Apple said a feature implemented in 2014 prevents anybody from accessing the data without a passcode, including Apple itself, Reuters reported.

This means fulfilling a request from the Justice Department to access locked iPhones would be “impossible to perform” on devices running iOS 8 or higher.

Apple was responding to the court’s request for information before the judge overseeing the case makes a decision on whether to grant the Justice Department’s request to force the company to help authorities unlock and access a seized iPhone.

Its response states that it does have the technical ability to force an unlock on the around 10% of iOS devices still running older operating systems, including the one involved in the case itself.

But the company is urging the court not to grant the request for fear it would damage trust between Apple and its customers, in turn tarnishing the Apple brand.

This will make the case an important test case for whether investigators should have the ability to compel device manufacturers to unlock devices.

Image courtesy of Ervins Strauhmanis under CC