The Indian government has struck a deal to buy the technology Israel-based Cellebrite used to gain access to the iPhone in the San Bernardino shooting case, reports the Economic Times. The FBI was reported to have paid Cellebrite close to $1M to access the phone in the high-profile case resulting in a court battle with Apple and a Congressional hearing.
India says that it will assist other law enforcement agencies around the world to unlock high-security devices, including the iPhone.
It’s unclear whether India is buying the exclusive rights to the technology, or on what terms it might make its services available to other governments.
“We are likely to have the technology within a month or so. India will become a global hub for cases where law enforcement is unable to break into phones,” said a senior Forensic Science Laboratory official.
Although the FBI was able to gain access to the San Bernardino phone (where nothing of interest was found), that might not signal the end to its legal battles with Apple: a statement by the agency last month suggested that it is considering legal action in an unrelated case.
