Feds drop case against Apple in NY

The Justice Department has dropped its effort to compel Apple to unlock an iPhone tied to a New York drug case.

{mosads}In a letter to a federal court in Brooklyn, prosecutors said someone gave authorities the phone’s passcode, Reuters reports.

“Late last night, the government used that passcode by hand and gained access to the iPhone,” the letter said, according to ZDNet. “Accordingly, the government no longer needs Apple’s assistance to unlock the iPhone, and withdraws its application.”

A federal judge ruled in February that the DOJ could not force Apple to provide access to the phone, and the government later appealed that ruling.

The case arose around the same time that Apple was fighting government demands to disable a key security feature to allow the FBI to access data on the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, sparking a highly publicized feud between the tech company and the bureau. 

The FBI recently dropped that effort after enlisting outside help to crack into the phone.