FBI Says Hacking Procedure Used for San Bernardino Case Works for ‘Narrow Slice of Phones’

The hacking procedure that was used for the San Bernardino Apple devices works only on a “narrow slice of phones,” said the FBI director on April 6 at Kenyon College in Ohio.

FBI Director James Comey participates in the Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing on worldwide threats, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The hacking method that was used for the San Bernardino Apple device works only on a “narrow slice of phones,” said the FBI director on April 6 at Kenyon College in Ohio.

The bureau’s director, James Comey, said the hacking method works only for the the iPhone 5C, running version 9 of Apple’s mobile operating system, not on newer or older models.

Comey said the FBI has not decided whether they will tell Apple how they hacked into the phone.

“We’re having discussions within the government about, ‘OK, so should we tell Apple what the flaw is that was found?’” said Comey.

If we tell Apple, then they're going to fix it.

— James Comey, FBI Director