Government sinks teeth into Apple’s security core

I view Apple with almost as much loathing as I save for overzealous federal prosecutors. My last Apple phone was a lemon. The "Genius Bar" isn't. When I hear Apple extol its vaunted regard for privacy, I think of all the invasive personal questions my iPhone used to ask before I could download a free app. That was before I switched to Android. Liberated from 1 Infinite Loop — that's is Apple headquarters' precious Cupertino street address — I am free of owners' cultish reverence for all things iPhone.

So when I began reading CEO Tim Cook's open letter outlining the reasons why the most valuable corporation in the world would not submit to a judge's order that Apple help break the encryption on a terrorist's iPhone, I was ready to believe that Apple was putting its brand before public safety. But this is no black-and-white controversy. It's not: Apple thinks it doesn't have to obey court orders. And it's not: The government just wants to mess with Apple's encryption. It's more complicated.