Earlier today, more details regarding how the FBI was able to gain access to the iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen emerged. Now, a new report from CBS News is offering some information as to the contents of the device, or lack thereof rather. The report says that, as of right now, the FBI has not found anything of “real significance” on the device.
The report cites a law enforcement source and says that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will continue to analyze the contents of the iPhone 5c in question, but nothing of interest has been found yet.
Earlier this month, the FBI told press that it didn’t know at that point if the San Bernardino iPhone was actually useful and that it was “too early” to tell. Additionally, the government organization added that it didn’t know whether or not it would reveal its findings publicly once the examination was complete.
Today’s report falls in line with speculation from many prior to the FBI gaining access to the device. In February, the husband of a San Bernardino survivor explained that it was “unlikely” the terrorist’s iPhone contained any valuable information due to it being a county-owned phone. “Why then would someone store vital contacts related to an attack on a phone they knew the county had access to?,” he asked in a letter to the court before the case was dropped.
Earlier today, it was reported that Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite was not behind the method the FBI used to gain access to the iPhone 5c. Instead, it was reported that a group of freelance hackers aided the FBI for a one-time fee.
While it’s significant that nothing of interest has yet been found on the iPhone, it’s still unlikely that the FBI would ever officially confirm this report. Whether or not it would confirm reports claiming that it did find useful information remains to be seen, but that situation is looking increasingly unlikely.
