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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday August 11 2019, @03:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the maybe,-maybe-not dept.

Top FBI officials informed congressional lawmakers this week that they have been unable to access the smartphone of the suspected gunman in the Dayton, Ohio, mass shooting, two sources told The Hill.

In a briefing about the weekend shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Texas, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich told House Democrats that the agency is in possession of what’s believed to be Connor Betts’s primary phone but can’t open it because it requires a passcode, according to the two sources who took part in Wednesday's briefing.

[...] During the conference call with lawmakers, Bowdich said the FBI “can’t unlock” the device. If Betts was using a six- to eight-digit PIN, it could be months or even years before the FBI can crack the password, Bowdich said.

“We don’t know when we are going to get into the phone,” he told lawmakers, according to a source on the call, one of several FBI briefings this week involving members of Congress from both parties.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[...] After a 2015 mass shooting left 14 people dead in San Bernardino, Calif., the FBI mounted a public campaign to pressure Apple into creating software that would give law enforcement access to one of the shooter’s phones. The Department of Justice asked a federal court in California to compel the iPhone maker into building a backdoor into the device.

Before the court could rule on the DOJ’s motion, the FBI announced it had managed to gain access into the phone with the help of an outside contractor, heading off what might have been a landmark battle with Silicon Valley over civil liberties.


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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 11 2019, @11:58AM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 11 2019, @11:58AM (#878820) Journal

    Great point. If they are looking for a manifesto, it has been PUBLISHED by the time the shooter acts. Check Facebook, Youtube, 8Chan, and the rest. If there is no manifesto, then family, classmates, workmates, and other associates probably have all the necessary details. Just start interviewing them. No one needs a record of every video he ever watched, every email he ever sent, or every entry into a private journal to convict and/or determine motivation. 999 times out of a thousand, that phone is just going to confirm data that can be had without the phone. That one in a thousand? You might find one or two minor details that weren't available from other sources. But, the whole world knew the sumbitch was pulling the trigger, without ever accessing his phone. GUILTY!!

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 11 2019, @01:43PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 11 2019, @01:43PM (#878838)

    They don't care about finding out the reasons why the shooter did this. They are looking for contacts to charge with crimes.
    The primary actor may be out of reach, but if they can find five people he interacted with on something that can be linked to the shooting, that's five people charged with conspiracy and anything else they can dump on. That will help several careers.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 11 2019, @10:46PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 11 2019, @10:46PM (#878993)

      Again though, that type of information can be found by issuing subpoenas to his telco provider, facebook, etc.