Apple's officially off the hook. 
 
 The US Department of Justice, with the help of a third party, has successfully accessed data on a phone used by a terrorist in December's attack in San Bernardino, California, the agency revealed in a court filing Monday. It said it no longer needs Apple's assistance in unlocking the iPhone 5C used by Syed Farook, and it has asked Riverside, California-based US Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym to vacate her order compelling Apple to assist in the case. 
 
 The move Monday ends the legal battle between Apple and the FBI in this particular case, but it doesn't end the overarching battle about privacy and security. There are hundreds of other iPhones that law enforcement agencies around the country want unlocked, opening Apple to potential litigation across the US. And the government's success at accessing data on the iPhone also raises some concerns about the security of Apple's devices. 
 
 "We sought an order compelling Apple to help unlock the phone to fulfill a solemn commitment to the victims of the San Bernardino shooting -- that we will not rest until we have fully pursued every investigative lead related to the vicious attack," Eileen M. Decker, US attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. "Although this step in the investigation is now complete, we will continue to explore every lead, and seek any appropriate legal process, to ensure our investigation collects all of the evidence related to this terrorist attack." 
 
 After the filing, Apple reiterated its belief that the FBI's demand for a backdoor was "wrong and would set a dangerous precedent" and said that "this case should never have been brought." 
 
 "Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy," Apple said in a statement. "Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk." 
 
 Last week, the Justice Department asked a judge to call off last Tuesday's hearing over whether Apple should have to make software that lets the FBI unlock an iPhone 5C connected to the San Bernardino attack. In a surprise revelation the day before the hearing, the government said an unnamed outside party had given investigators a method that might provide access to the phone's data. It wanted time to explore the alternative way to get into the iPhone. 
 
 Monday's move by the Justice Department ends the legal tussle between the tech titan and the government over a single iPhone, which has spun out into a broader debate with much more at stake. Technology companies and rights groups argue that strong encryption, which scrambles data so it can only be read by the right person, is needed to keep people safe and protect privacy. Law enforcement argues it can't fight crimes unless it has access to information on mobile devices. 
 
 Now playing: Watch this: FBI drops Apple court case after unlocking terrorist's... 
 
 Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said Monday that "it remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails. We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors." 
 
 Monday's news raises questions about the security of Apple's devices and how the Justice Department was able to break into the phone. The FBI hasn't said what company it's working with or what method it used to access the data. Cellebrite, a privately held Israeli company that specializes in transferring and extracting data from phones, has been named in some reports as the third party helping the FBI unlock the iPhone, but neither the FBI nor Cellebrite has confirmed the reports. 
 
 A law enforcement official, speaking Monday with reporters on the condition of anonymity, declined to specify how the FBI got into the phone or what company helped it gain access. The official also declined to say whether the method works on other iPhones besides Farook's iPhone 5C, and it wouldn't say if the FBI would tell Apple about how it got into the phone. 
 
 "We cannot comment on the possibility of future disclosures to Apple," the official said. But the official, when asked about how the case will impact the government's relationship with Apple going forward, said the FBI's "goal is always to work cooperatively with Apple." 
 
 Still, if the FBI was able to hack into the iPhone 5C, it could mean other iPhones aren't as secure as believed. 
 
 "Although this averts the possibility of a further court decision that imperils Apple, it makes it clear that there is a security flaw in that generation of the OS," said Joshua Rich, a partner at Chicago-based law firm McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff. "Apple now will have to try to pinpoint the flaw and fix it -- most likely, without much help from the US government in showing how it got in. So while this resolution averts a crisis, it means Apple has more work to do." 
 
 Updated at 4 p.m. PT: Adds comments from law enforcement official. 
 
 Updated at 6:40 p.m. PT: With Apple's statement. 
 
 Apple Status report ||||| According to a new court filing, government prosecutors have formally asked a federal judge to cancel her prior order that would have compelled Apple to assist efforts to unlock a seized iPhone linked to the San Bernardino attacks in late 2015. 
 
 Apple had publicly said in court that it would resist all efforts to force its compliance. Last week, however, the hearing between prosecutors and Apple was postponed less than 24 hours before it was set to take place, because the Department of Justice said it was evaluating a new method to access the phone's data. 
 
 "The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on [terrorist Syed Rizwan] Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc.," prosecutors wrote in the Monday filing, which does not explain precisely what was done. The government has also not explained what, if any data was recovered. 
 
 Thom Mrozek, a DOJ spokesman, did not respond to Ars' questions as to whether this technique would be disclosed to the court, to Apple, or even to the public. 
 
 Apple did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment. 
 
 In a Monday evening call with reporters, a law enforcement official who was granted anonymity, said that the DOJ would not comment on the possibility of future disclosures to Apple, adding that it would also not explain what data was accessed, nor what non-government entity helped prosecutors. He also said that the FBI would continue to assist state and local law enforcement partners in lawfully accessing data held on mobile devices—suggesting that this technical and legal tactic could continue in the future. 
 
 The DOJ had previously told the judge they needed this new version of iOS as a way to get into the seized iPhone 5C that was used by Farook. The iOS 9 phone was encrypted with a four-digit passcode, and investigators were afraid that if they enter the wrong passcode 10 times, it would auto-delete all the data on the phone. The initial order would have forced Apple to create a customized version of iOS that would disable this lockout feature, enabling the government to brute force passcodes until it could get in. 
 
 The government relied on its interpretation of an obscure 18th-century law known as the All Writs Act, which allows courts to compel people and companies to do certain actions. Last month, Apple put forward its first formal legal arguments, based on a rejection of a 1977 Supreme Court decision United States v. New York Telephone, the prominent case that relies on the All Writs Act. There, authorities demanded that the utility implement a surveillance tool known as a pen register trap and trace device to investigate a gambling operation. 
 
 "This shows that Apple was right all along that it was not necessary for the government to make it weaken its encryption to get what it needed pursuant to its warrant," Neil Richards, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, told Ars. "It’s an implicit concession by the government that its All Writs Act argument wasn’t a good one." 
 
 Last Friday, Jonathan Zdziarski, a well-known iOS security and forensics expert, detailed a NAND mirroring attack, which demonstrates "how copying back disk content could allow for unlimited passcode attempts." ||||| Case 5:16-cm-00010-SP Document 209 Filed 03/28/16 Page 1 of 2 Page ID #:3188 
 
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 EILEEN M. DECKER 
 
 United States Attorney 
 
 PATRICIA A. DONAHUE 
 
 Assistant United States Attorney 
 
 Chief, National Security Division 
 
 TRACY L. WILKISON (California Bar No. 184948) 
 
 Chief, Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section 
 
 Assistant United States Attorney 
 
 1500 United States Courthouse 
 
 312 North Spring Street 
 
 Los Angeles, California 90012 
 
 Telephone: (213) 894-2400 
 
 Facsimile: (213) 894-8601 
 
 Email: 
 
 Tracy.Wilkison@usdoj.gov 
 
 Attorneys for Applicant 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
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 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
 
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 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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 IN THE MATTER OF THE SEARCH 
 
 OF AN APPLE IPHONE SEIZED 
 
 DURING THE EXECUTION OF A 
 
 SEARCH WARRANT ON A BLACK 
 
 LEXUS IS300, CALIFORNIA 
 
 LICENSE PLATE #5KGD203 
 
 ED No. CM 16-10 (SP) 
 
 GOVERNMENT’S STATUS REPORT 
 
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 Applicant United States of America, by and through its counsel of record, the 
 
 United States Attorney for the Central District of California, hereby files this status 
 
 report called for by the Court’s order issued on March 21, 2016. (CR 199.) 
 
 The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s 
 
 iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by 
 
 Court’s Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 
 
 2016. 
 
 Case 5:16-cm-00010-SP Document 209 Filed 03/28/16 Page 2 of 2 Page ID #:3189 
 
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 Accordingly, the government hereby requests that the Order Compelling Apple 
 
 Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016 be vacated. 
 
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 Dated: March 28, 2016 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 EILEEN M. DECKER 
 
 United States Attorney 
 
 PATRICIA A. DONAHUE 
 
 Assistant United States Attorney 
 
 Chief, National Security Division 
 
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 Assistant United States Attorney 
 
 Attorneys for Applicant 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ||||| The Department of Justice on Monday filed to withdraw a legal action compelling Apple's assistance in unlocking an iPhone linked to last year's San Bernardino shootings, saying it successfully gained access to, and extracted data from, the target device. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Justice Department has moved to vacate a California court order compelling Apple provide aid in an ongoing FBI investigation into the San Bernardino shootings. With a working exploit, law enforcement agents no longer require help from the iPhone maker and cannot —or need to —assert the All Writs Act to force Apple's assistance."The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Court's Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016," the government said in a court filing.An unnamed government official informed USA Today of the Justice Department's plans on Monday , more than one week before federal prosecutors in the case are due to update the court on the efficacy of a third-party unlock method presented earlier this month . Court reporter Dan Levine of Reuters confirmed the decision on Twitter."It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails," said DOJ spokesperson Melanie Newman in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors."Apple in February was ordered by a federal magistrate judge to comply with FBI demands for assistance in unlocking an iPhone tied to San Bernardino terror suspect Syed Rizwan Farook. The company resisted, arguing that the creation of a software workaround weakens the security of millions of iOS devices around the world and had implications on the public's right to privacy.Due to its high-profile nature, the case spilled over into the public arena, sparking a contentious debate over the proper balance between civil rights and national security. The stakes were high for both sides, as an FBI win would set valuable precedent in asserting AWA as an effective evidence gathering tool, while Apple would gain protections against the same if it won.In a last minute twist just one day prior to an initial evidentiary hearing, federal prosecutors called for a delay after being presented a potential workaround from an outside party. It appears the method is effective, rendering all prior arguments moot.With a working iOS exploit in the wild, focus is bound to shift toward Apple. The company's assertions, which rested on the premise of a nigh unhackable operating system, have been upended by today's development. Not only does Apple need to recover from the inevitable PR debacle, but it must also work to secure its devices against an attack method that could be aired in public as court evidence.The government has not yet determined whether or not it will furnish details of the vulnerability to Apple engineers, and it is not clear that the company is entitled to such information.Aside from its prepared statements, the DOJ made no substantial comments on the matter during a media conference call, saying that releasing details on the exploit would be premature. Apple did not comment on today's news.Apple has issued a brief statement, as reported by BuzzFeed's John Paczkowski:"From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government's dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated.Apple believes deeply that people in the States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion."
– The FBI said Monday it successfully used a mysterious technique without Apple Inc.'s help to hack into the iPhone used by a gunman in a mass shooting in California, effectively ending a pitched court battle between the Obama administration and one of the world's leading technology companies. The government asked a federal judge to vacate a disputed order forcing Apple to help the FBI break into the iPhone, saying it was no longer necessary. The court filing in US District Court for the Central District of California provided no details about how the FBI did it or who showed it how (some reports say the Israeli company Cellebrite hacked the iPhone, CNET reports, and this blog apparently shows how to do it). Apple did not immediately comment on the development. The surprise development also punctured the temporary perception that Apple's security might have been good enough to keep consumers' personal information safe even from the US government—with the tremendous resources it can expend when it wants to uncover something. The FBI used the technique to access data on an iPhone used by gunman Syed Farook, who died with his wife in a gun battle with police after they killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif., in December. "This shows that Apple was right all along that it was not necessary for the government to make it weaken its encryption to get what it needed pursuant to its warrant," a law professor tells Ars Technica. But Apple now has to handle "the inevitable PR debacle" and consider that the hacking method "could be aired in public as court evidence," says Apple Insider.