Federal law enforcement has sought court orders to force Apple to help unlock more than just the iPhone that belonged to the San Bernardino terrorists, devices not related to terrorism.
A letter written by Marc J. Zwillinger, one of Apple's lawyers, and submitted in the San Bernardino case was unsealed on Tuesday,
The New York Times reported. It showed that the Justice Department has sought Apple's help in at least nine other cases.
"Apple has not agreed to perform any services on the devices," Zwillinger wrote.
The new revelation was seen by many as a response to the FBI's past assertion that the scope of its investigation is limited, and that the bureau is not trying to create a precedent by seeking the court order.
Apple, on the other hand, has repeatedly said that creating a back door or other hack to help the FBI in the San Bernardino case would compromise the security of all iPhones.
"Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices," Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, said in a letter to customers,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
A separate statement from the company released Monday said law enforcement agencies across the country "have hundreds of iPhones they want Apple to unlock if the F.B.I. wins this case."
In the first six months of 2015, Apple received 11,000 requests from government agencies around the world seeking information on roughly 60,000 devices. It provided some data in 7,100 instances.
Apple said it has provided the FBI with a cloud-based backup of the iPhone in the San Bernardino case, but that it simply does not have access to the phone itself.
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