The director noted that there was a difference between encryption on the iPhone (“data at rest”) and WhatsApp (“data in motion”), as far as law enforcement issues are considered. While not directly saying that he was going to go after Facebook’s app in a lawsuit, he said that “whether there is going to be litigation, I don’t know” adding that “collision is going to happen, just the way it’s happening in data at rest.”
Regarding the San Bernardino iPhone 5c tool, that the FBI still claims that they don’t own, Comey claims to not only be trying to figure out how to re-use it, but also that he doesn’t know the identity of the penetrators. He has a “good sense” of the contractor, but “couldn’t give you people’s names.” He noted that the FBI has examined 4000 devices from all manufacturers since October, and hasn’t been able to penetrate 500 of them. He refused to give a break down of manufacturer or operating system.
In the press briefing, Comey also shied away from calling the San Bernardino killers ISIL recruits. He noted that the group has “lost their ability to attract people to the caliphate from the United States” and directly called the shooters in California affected by the group’s “poison and propaganda” online.
