The iPhone used by a terrorist in the San Bernardino, California, shooting was unlocked by a small Australian hacking firm in 2016, ending a momentous standoff between the US government and the tech titan Apple.
Azimuth Security, a publicity-shy company that says it sells its cyber wares only to democratic governments, secretly crafted the solution the FBI used to gain access to the device, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Azimuth is a poster child for “white hat” hacking, experts say, which is good-guy cybersecurity research that aims to disclose flaws and disavows authoritarian governments.