Right now the debate is on as to whether or not Apple should unlock the iPhone, or provide backdoor access to the iPhone belonging to one of the shooters of the San Bernardino shootings. The FBI claims that they need Apple’s help to do so because apparently they have no other way of gaining access to said device.
However that might not necessarily be 100% true, at least according to Edward Snowden. Speaking at a virtual talk held at John Hopkins University (via Cult of Mac), Snowden claims that there is one way that the FBI could hack the phone themselves, and it is through the use of acid and lasers and a method known as decapping.
According to Snowden, “The problem is, the FBI has other means… They told the courts they didn’t, but they do. The FBI does not want to do this.” Decapping involves using acid and lasers and other equipment which will then hack the iPhone’s memory chip micron by micron. It is no doubt a slow and tedious process, but it is a possible alternative.
The only downside is that if anything goes wrong, the phone will be rendered completely unusable, which is why it is understandable why the FBI might not want to go down that road, but we suppose worst comes to worst, it could be an idea worth exploring if there is absolutely nothing else on the table.