Revealed: The Money FBI Spent to break into San Bernardino iPhone

                                         iPhone by Kzar  CC BY-SA 4.0

According to a Public statement that was issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, the Agency paid a steep amount of $1.7 Million to break into the San Bernardino Shooter’s iPhone.

While it might sound comical, the money that FBI paid to break into the iPhone is more than their Director would earn from the Agency in his remaining tenure. According to figures, without taking into consideration a pay raise or a bonus, Mr. Comey is expected to earn an amount of $1.34-Million during his remaining 7-year tenure at the apex of FBI.

It was Comey himself who unveiled the amount and that it would be more than the remainder of his salary. When asked by a moderator during the meeting of Aspen Security Forum in London, here is what Comey had to offer …

“A lot. More than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months for sure,” Comey said. “But it was, in my view, worth it.”

The Justice Department had initially tried to force Apple to unlock the phone. However, after the insistence of Apple to do otherwise – and both parties going hammer and tongs against each other in the court, FBI hired the services of a third-party contractor to do the job.

Much to the relief of the American Tax Payer, the FBI says that it will be able to use this software on other Apple 5C iPhones which operate on the IOS 9 software.

While this fee might solve the mystery regarding the financiers of the San Bernardino shooters, it still hasn’t resolved the encryption debate that has clouded the U.S. for the better part of last 5 months.

Is this the highest ever fee for a hacking job?

Yes, it is. The previous “record” was held by the US Information Security Company Zerodium. The US Company had paid $1 Million to break into the phones under their consideration.