FBI official dubs Apple ‘evil genius’; its people ‘jerks’ over encryption

One US Federal Bureau of Investigation official has become so frustrated with Apple's iPhone security that he has described its employees as ''jerks'' and its products as the work of an "evil genius".

The technology giant has made it increasingly difficult to break into iPhones, claiming it keeps customers safer from hackers. But government officials say these measures are getting in the way of justice by blocking potential evidence from suspected criminals.

"At what point is it just trying to one-up things and at what point is it to thwart law enforcement?" asked FBI forensic expert Stephen Flatley during the International Conference on Cyber Security in Manhattan this week.

Describing Apple as "jerks", Flatley revealed that Apple recently made its iPhones even harder to access. It has recently added a trick that makes password cracking software much slower, making it more difficult for law enforcement to break into phones, he said.

His words would surely find an echo with the Narendra Modi government in India, obsessed as it is with keeping tabs on every aspect of citizens' lives. But fortunately for the Prime Minister and his administration, iPhone sales in India are relatively small, as the prices put them out of the reach of most citizens.

Specialists have access to software that tries out every possible set of characters, inputting thousands in a short period of time. But Apple has now limited the attempts it can make at a password per minute, making it difficult for police to open a phone in the already limited time they have to find evidence.

Apple's track record on assisting the FBI is mixed. The most public clash occurred after the December 21015 San Bernardino shooting which killed 14 people. The FBI took Apple to court after it refused to unlock one shooter's iPhone found on the scene. The case was eventually withdrawn after the FBI found Israeli security experts to unlock the phone.

Flatley also had good things to say about Cellebrite, an Israeli firm that makes forensic hacking products for law enforcement. ''If you have another evil genius, Cellebrite,then maybe we can get into that front,'' he said.

Last year Apple claimed to "immediately" offer help with accessing the phone of Devin Kelley, a shooter who massacred 26 in a Texas church.  It has previously claimed to work with law enforcement on a daily basis and offers training to agents.

For cops, strong encryption with no backdoors is a slap in the face to law enforcement agencies, and a big win for criminals. For tech companies and encryption advocates, strong encryption mathematically can't have backdoors, and strong encryption is the only thing stopping criminals from gaining access to all your digital data.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said the iPhone giant has been sharing metadata with British security services to help with their investigations.

But encryption is still a tough nut to crack. Mark Stokes, head of digital and electronics forensics at the London Metropolitan Police, told The Telegraph that encryption would be a "killer" as it is used more widely in messaging and popular apps.