The U.S. Department of Justice has withdrawn its legal action demanding Apple help the government unlock an encrypted iPhone. The US government has also confirmed a third party method to bypass access to a terrorist's phone has proven successful. The court filing says the Federal Bureau of Investigation had managed to access data stored on the iPhone. As such, the FBI says it no longer requires assistance from Apple.
The phone has been at the center of a dispute between the US government and Apple over whether the company should be obliged to show US investigators how to access the data it holds.
At issue is the extent to which the US government could use the technique to access information on other phones in the future.
So, how should we balance the needs for personal privacy and national security? What legal precedent does a case like this set?