The iPhone 5c belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters could possibly have been “used as a weapon to introduce a ‘dormant cyber pathogen'” into the county's infrastructure, San Bernardino District Attorney Michael Ramos contended in court documents filed in support of an order compelling Apple to help the FBI unlock the phone.
That's a fancy way of saying that shooter Syed Rizwan Farook may have used his county-issued iPhone to infect the government's networks with malware. The phone could also yield the identity of a third shooter, if indeed that shooter does exist, the filing said, noting that uncorroborated reports of an additional shooter in “at least two 911 calls” ultimately may “be incorrect.” Still, information on the phone “could provide evidence to identify as of yet unknown co-conspirators” whom the DA ultimately would prosecute, Ramos said in justifying his office's request to file as an amicus curiae in the case.
