Apple CEO Tim Cook writes letter to staff explaining stance on FBI legal battle

Apple CEO Tim Cook has written a letter to staff explaining the company’s motives for refusing government orders.

The FBI has attained a government order to force Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, USA, terror attackers. In a written statement to Apple customers, Cook said the order was “an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers.”

He went on to further explain why they would fight the decision: “In today’s digital world, the ‘key’ to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.”

Subsequently, he sent an internal memo – obtained and verified by BuzzFeed News – to staff to discuss the issue in greater depth, and to link their positon back to company culture.