The DOJ has now said it has managed to get access to the shooter’s iPhone. Cellebrite is the third party which had come forward to help the FBI crack open Apple’s encryption in its iPhone.

In a significant development that brings to an end the high-stakes legal battle between Apple and the FBI, the Justice Department has disclosed that it has managed to unlock the iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino case. Following this development, although it has dropped its case against the software giant the broader struggle over encryption though still remains an issue.

The end to the confrontation that transfixed the tech industry can be termed as a victory for both parties since the Justice Department has got what it was after as for Apple, it did not have to code new software to break into its own smartphone.

“From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a back door into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought,” said Apple in a statement.

However the broader question of law enforcement agencies accessing private encrypted information is by no means over. Tech giants across the industry are adamant that anything that helps the authorities undermine security features by design is a step backwards since it undermines security for all.

The issue that brought this case to light was the case of a county-owned iPhone used by the husband and wife shooters who went on a killing spree in San Bernardino, California, which left 14 people dead and 22 wounded. Subsequently, the couple died after the police retaliated.

After insisting for weeks in court filings and congressional testimony that only Apple had the “exclusive technical means” to unlock Farook’s phone, in a sudden and surprise development, the Justice Department had announced on the eve of a court hearing that an outside party had presented it with a potentially new solution to the problem.

Yesterday, the Justice Department, in a two-page court filing said the government had managed to “successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple.”

It has asked a federal magistrate in Riverside, California, to withdraw the order which compels Apple to assist it in the case.

On receiving the court order Apple had taken the line of argument that the court order was a significant overreach and that Congress had specifically not provided the government with such authority, especially when it comes to electronic surveillance and data collection.

“We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated,” said Apple in a statement.

More than two dozen tech giants, including, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have backed Apple and had filed legal briefs supporting its point of view.

What remains unresolved in the hacking technique used by the Israeli firm and if how and when that information will be shared. If the technique is revealed, it is very likely that Apple will fix to make the hacking technique ineffective. However, if the government keeps the technique close to its chest, Apple’s marketing could face a potential public backslash concerning the security of its phones.

Significantly, there are also a number of other cases wherein law enforcement agencies have asked to access to the data stored in iPhone. It is as yet unclear if this same hacking technique will be shared with them.

As per a senior law enforcement official, it is too soon to tell whether the technique would be shared with other law enforcement agencies and/or with Apple.

The FBI has said it would not comment on the technical steps involved to break into the iPhone.

“The full exploitation of the phone and follow-up investigative steps are continuing,” said David Bowdich, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, in a statement.