Even Apple Can’t Unlock iPhones Without Passcode!

In response to U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of New York memorandum and order that required Apple Inc. to assist in the execution of a search warrant, the Cupertino company has said that without the device’s passcode it would be impossible to access the device’s encrypted data, for devices running iOS 8 or higher, even for Apple.

Currently, 90 percent of Apple’s devices are using iOS 8 or higher, as measured by Apple’s App Store, as of October 5, 2015.

The iPhone maker made its stance clear in a brief filed late Monday. As to why the government seeks Apple’s assistance to access the iPhone in its custody remains unclear at the moment.

Apple explained that for devices running on iOS 8, a person must know the passcode to decrypt the majority of data on the device. However, for those running on iOS 7 or previous versions, it has the “technical ability to extract certain categories of unencrypted data from a passcode locked iOS device”. Apple cannot, however, extract email, calendar entries, or any third-party app data.

Moreover, Apple said that with public sensitivity regarding digital privacy and security at unprecedented levels, “Forcing Apple to extract data in this case, absent clear legal authority to do so, could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand.”

Apple requested the Court to deny the government’s application for an order requiring Apple to perform extraction services on the Apple-manufactured device in the government’s custody.