Tag Archives: technology

Feds Withdraw Order That Apple Hack Killer’s iPhone

The U.S. Department of Justice has withdrawn its demand that Apple ( AAPL ) help it hack into an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre, according to media reports late Monday. The news comes one week after the Justice Department said it had learned of a way to unlock a password-protected iPhone without Apple’s help. Last week, the FBI said an unidentified outside party had demonstrated to it a possible method for unlocking the iPhone in question. CNBC reported Monday that authorities had successfully accessed data on the iPhone belonging to Syed Farook, one of the two now-deceased killers in the San Bernardino shootings. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people on Dec. 2. The radicalized Muslim couple, described in press reports as supporters of terror group ISIS, died in a gun battle with police. A U.S. magistrate on Feb. 16 ordered Apple to assist the FBI in hacking Farook’s iPhone, but Apple contested the order, saying it would set a dangerous precedent. Apple said the government wanted it to create a back door around its security protections that would put the data of all of its customers at risk. Apple executives said the government was overstepping its bounds by ordering Apple to write special software to hack its own smartphones. The case has fueled a debate over smartphone encryption, which has pitted Silicon Valley and civil rights groups against the federal government and law enforcement agencies. Federal authorities now say they don’t need Apple’s help in the case and are asking the judge to drop her Feb. 16 order. USA Today was the first to report that the government would drop its case against Apple.  

Facebook Price Target Hiked As Shipments Of Oculus Rift Take Flight

As its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset began landing in the hands of buyers Monday, Facebook ( FB ) received upbeat reports from two analysts. Evercore ISI analyst Ken Sena hiked his price target on Facebook stock to 150 from 140, saying the company is in a strong position to dominate the messaging market with its WhatsApp and Messenger applications while attracting more developers. Facebook stock rose a in the stock market today , to 113.69. Facebook is trading comfortably above its 50-day moving average as it works on a new base with a 117.69 buy point. “With a combined 1.8 billion messaging users between WhatsApp and Messenger alone, Facebook offers developers an audience essentially as large as the entirety of the iOS and Android user base, ex-China,” he wrote. Sena said the ease of use of those apps positions Facebook’s messaging ecosystem “to showcase itself as possibly the next leading developer ecosystem.” It also provides Facebook with a revenue opportunity which Sena estimates at $4 billion. Steve Weinstein, an analyst at ITG Investment Research, wrote in a separate research report that he sees revenue growth at Facebook accelerating above Wall Street’s consensus estimates, which could could give the stock a charge. Based on an analysis of data through February, Weinstein estimates Facebook’s first-quarter revenue in the U.S. and Europe is accelerating above the analyst estimates. He projects Q1 revenue will come in at $5.45 billion, up 54% year over year and above the $5.25 billion consensus view reported by Thomson Reuters. The upbeat reports come as Facebook began shipping its virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift, on Monday. Research firm CCS Insight estimates the overall virtual reality device market, including the related augmented reality field, will exceed $4 billion in annual sales within three years.