The US government is to drop its court case against Apple as a result of the FBI finding a way to unlock an encrypted iPhone.
The phone had been used by one of the California terrorists who, together with his wife, shot and killed 14 people last year.
The FBI wanted Apple to unlock the encryption as all data would have been wiped clean after ten failed password attempts.
Apple rejected a court order requiring it to develop software to unlock the device, claiming that it would set a precedent for all encrypted devices.
In its original filing, the US Attorney's Office argued: "Apple has the exclusive technical means which would assist the government in completing its search, but has declined to provide that assistance voluntarily."
A number of major tech firms rushed to support Apple’s stance, believing that such decryption software would weaken privacy protection for all users.
Last week, FBI investigators said they had been contacted by a third party who claimed to have a technique to unlock the data.
"If the method is viable,” it said “it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple Inc” as set forth in the court case. This appears to now be the case as the federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said “this step in the investigation is now complete”.
