What's In Your SmartPhone?

FBI hacks attacker's iPhone, drops Apple suit. The ability of the FBI to break into the terrorist iPhone without forcing Apple to help by creating a backdoor raises as many questions as it answers. First, it highlights the fact that no computing device is unhackable. As secure as these devices are, the need for users to access the data means that anyone with sufficient technical skill can get in. For lawyers, this probably isn't an issue, because, while we are required to keep client secrets, we are only required to exercise "reasonable " care in doing so. Encrypting our devices, and using two factor authentication is certainly reasonable in today's environment. As I have written often, the tension between the need for safety and the right of privacy will continue to be the subject of litigation. Let's hope we can find an acceptable balance.