We have to have a good definition of the problem before we can discuss the validity of potential solutions. The best description I was able to find was on io9:
"Apple offered the government four alternative techniques to help it access the phone’s data, as an alternate to creating a special software, the executive told reporters. This is a very different scenario than the one portrayed in the government’s motion, which paints Apple as thoroughly uncooperative.

But there is one thing the government and Apple agree on: It is technically possible for Apple to write the kind of software in demand. In fact, the executive admitted that the Cupertino company would be able to write this software not only for its newest phones but also for all phones it has in use. And that’s one of the reasons Apple insists that the burden of writing the software is far too great—any software it creates could act as a master key.

Apple hasn’t revealed exactly how far it will go before it acquiesces. However, this will likely have an impact on how it designs security measures in the future. Apple may design them to make it technically impossible to force the company to comply. "

If this is accurate, it changes my answer: Apple should (a) use one of its 4 solutions to hack the individual phone, (b) let the appeal against writing exploit software for the FBI drag on for years, and (c) make future versions of the iphone unhackable. (God should make a rock that is to big for him to lift.) After years worth of appeals, and with all of the phones by-that-time unhackable, the issue will be moot.

Jan

Don't worry, folks, our wonderful government is only here to help us.
Big Brother just wants a backdoor to watch our everything.
So you don;t want to be looked upon as a domestic terrorist, do you? For sure you don't!
Just get with the system and represent yourself as one cool dude or dudette.
Go, go, good government, go!
Good government is . . . WORKING!
Yay!.
Just love your good government
I am Bernie Sanders and I approve of this message. .

Apple isn't refusing the warrant, that would be obstruction of justice. They're appealing it and it is still in that process.

2. According to Maria Bartaromo on Fox Business News, Tim Cook's fight is all theatrics and he will comply as soon as the legal objections are exhausted, but to save face both in the industry and internationally, to make it clear that govt doesn't control corporations as they do in China.

For the Solons of Washington, nothing less than another limitation to our freedom is to be expected. Many have used patriotism as an excuse for collectivism, even those who are supposedly Constitutional scholars.

AJAshinoff wrote: "Apple had done this very thing 70 times for the fed gov in the past. Why take a stand on this instance?..."

Apple is taking the producer's stance. Remember that Hank Rearden employed Wesley Mouch as his lobbyist in Washington. Why should Rearden later refuse to sell his Metal at the market price to the State Science Institute for their Highly Important Project? Why object to the Gift Certificate? He went along "70 other times". Why draw the line here? Why draw it at all?

Lets look at this rationally as well as logically. The cellphone in question was not owned by the individual, it was owned a a government entity (his employer). Apple has used their tools to break into 70 phones at the governments request, they are refusing to hack into this known terrorist work phone. Why?

If that government agency wants a back door into the phones it provides its people and are willing to pay for it apple should provide it (or the business should find other phones). The fedgov, following a successful terrorist attack, subpoena's apple to do something they've readily done before and they refuse - obstruction of justice.

This is not about privacy, the terrorist was not the owner. This is about politics and defiance.

Apple should comply TO SPECIFICALLY keep the hack out of the fedgov hands. If the fedgov gives McAfee a phone to hack they or he will own the backdoor (hack) and have it for future use, to use on whoever they want.

Hollow, unfulfillable promises for publicity.

I wonder how funny the elections will be when Kanye West runs in 2020.

Well, here is a new wrinkle in the whole thing: Apple told them what to do to try to get a new backup made, but the FBI apparently told San Bernadino to reset the password to the iCloud account, screwing up that possibility. Could it be they are manipulating the situation to force Apple to give them an open door to all phones?

http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-says-i...

I'm happy that Apple is putting its foot down and acting like businesses should (by protecting the security of its customers), but I'm deeply disappointed that this is what America has come to. Does anyone else have this kind of bittersweet... pride, almost?

Go Apple!

From what I understand, the fbi is not interested in solely getting into this one phone...I think if they were there would not be an issue.

I despise hackers because they have cost us a lot of money we might have used elsewhere...like preventive heal measures, savings for a rainy day or in case of an economic collapse...nowadays, it costs a lot of money to keep the same computer running well cause of all the garbage coming from the internet.

There is always some creature out there that ruins a good thing.

How is McAffee going to social engineer a break-in on a physical hardware device? Did his hackers snoop that phone number and hack the communication stream that had password? Without that the newish iPhones use one-way hash encryption and does not store the user's password on the device or anywhere. Therefore, without the password which is needed to unencrypt the iPhone's stored data, the FBI needs direct access to the storage volume and then give it to NSA to brute force attack it.

Did you understand what I just said? Translate: the FBI/NSA wants Apple to remove its strong encryption on all iPhones.

So, the FBI and other 3-letter agencies had all the information required to prevent the massacre. But they did nothing, knew nothing, saw nothing... Now, they want to create even more of a police state and acquire more control of the citizens so that, postmortem, they can definitely determine that this was a case of workplace violence!

And the excuse that they need the contacts is total BS - all contacts are recorded and traced. The content of the messages may be encrypted, but they know whom the messages were addressed to. Shouldn't take much brains (admittedly, more than they have) to follow the leads.

First of all, the government could care less about this particular phone. They want to be able to crack any and all encription to increase their power. This foray into the legal system is just a convenient excuse to get universal access to all of our secrets.

Second of all, I cant believe the NSA cant pay some hacker (like McAfee) to do this. Snowden could probably do it also.

Thirdly, This attack on apple is such a thinly disguised attempt to take away all our security that it should be seen and treated as such.

If they do get to get Apple to capitulate, I will have to just not use their device's encription anymore and find another way to keep my info safe.

If government want master key program-NO
If government just wants help to catch Jihadist-YES. Everything else is just commentaries.

the govt doesn't want anyone to do the decryption
for them -- they want the key. . they want the omniscience
which they see in the mirror when they shave or apply
make-up or brush their teeth or whatever. -- j
.

Here's an A.E.I. article on this topic with a number of links to additional info:
https://www.aei.org/publication/suppo...

Yowza!