Why does the U.S. government need Apple's assist?

The government wants Apple to offer technical assistance to assist it damage into Farook's cellphone. Apple's mobile operating system encrypts virtually all of its facts so that forensics professionals cannot get entry to email, textual content messages, pics or different statistics until they input a password.

The phone requires  virtual "keys" to unscramble the data: a passcode entered by way of the consumer once they want to use the device and a unique 256-bit AES key this is coded into the hardware in the course of manufacture. The hardware key can not be removed from the tool, which prevents hackers from copying the contents of its tough force after which cracking the passcode with the help of effective computers.

Apple's mobile iOS device gives an vehicle-erase feature in an effort to wipe the device after 10 failed attempts to unencumber it. The government says it isn't certain if Farook enabled that function however has not attempted to unlock it because it does no longer need to danger dropping the facts.