As long as you have been conscious over the last couple of months, you know that the FBI and Apple are currently in a dispute. It all boils down to the San Bernardino shooting late last year, and the fact that the FBI recovered an Apple smartphone from one of the shooters. Well, initially they wanted the tech companies’ help so they could hack into the phone and get important information. However, on March 28, 2016, the Department of Justice, DOJ, issued a status report that indicated the assistance of Apple was no longer needed. Now, the issue of whether or not the FBI will share their methods with Apple comes up. One thing is for sure, though, and that’s that Microsoft is in full support of Apple.
THE STATUS REPORT FROM THE DOJ
Apparently, the FBI grew tired of waiting around for the tech company to help them. Per the report filed by the DOJ, the government successfully accessed the data that was stored on one of the shooters, Syed Farook, phones. Even though federal agencies discovered a U.S. Government policy of disclosing technology security flaws, the FBI may still be allowed to hold back the information on how they hacked into the phone. This is far from over, and Apple can be rest assured that Microsoft has their back on this one.
MICROSOFT IS IN SUPPORT OF APPLE
On the official blog page of Microsoft Brad Smith, the president, and chief legal officer, announced they had joined several other companies to file a legal brief in support of Apple. Google, Facebook, and Amazon were some of the other big-time companies to join Microsoft in their support of their competitor. This was posted on March 3, 2016, and Smith talked about why they had support for their competitor. He mentioned how all of them were concerned with the potential ramifications this would have for their customers. Privacy and safety are both at stake in this dispute, Smith says, and that is indeed the biggest concern.
