Investigators sought to use Michael Cohen’s face and fingerprints to access his Apple devices

“Investigators asked for court permission to use Michael Cohen’s Face ID and fingerprints to access Apple devices belonging to the president’s former fixer and personal attorney, newly released warrant documents show.,” Lauren Feiner reports for CNBC. “Apple has historically resisted providing a backdoor to law enforcement, including in the investigation of the 2015 shooting massacre in San Bernardino, California, when the FBI asked the company to help it unlock an iPhone belonging to the shooter.”
“The request in Cohen’s case differs, however, in that it would not require Apple to step in for authorities to access the contents of his devices. Apple declined to comment on the warrant documents,” Feiner reports. “In a sworn affidavit supporting a warrant application, an FBI agent requested ‘that the Court authorize law enforcement to press the fingers (including thumbs) of Cohen to the Touch ID sensors of the Subject Devices, or hold the Subject Devices in front of Cohen’s face, for the purpose of attempting to unlock the Subject Devices via Touch ID or Face ID in order to search the contents as authorized by this warrant.'”
“In January, a federal judge rejected a warrant request in California that sought people at the scene of the search provide their fingerprints and faces to access their devices, AppleInsider reported,” Feiner reports. “The judge reportedly said the request ‘runs afoul of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: At the core of the issue is the U.S. Constitution:
AMENDMENT V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
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Sometimes the law gets too cute. We shouldn’t leave common sense out of the equation. The process is the same thing. You’re getting access to someone’s most private information by forcing someone to give you the key. — Miami defense attorney David Oscar Markus, May 2016
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Ultimately… the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have to weigh in on this issue. — MacDailyNews, May 4, 2017
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The Touch ID lock on your iPhone isn’t cop-proof – May 11, 2016
U.S. government wants your fingerprints to unlock your phone – May 1, 2016
Should you disable Touch ID for your own security? – May 9, 2016
U.S. government wants your fingerprints to unlock your phone – May 1, 2016
Virginia police can now force you to unlock your smartphone with your fingerprint – October 31, 2014
Apple’s Touch ID may mean U.S. iPhone 5s users can’t ‘take the fifth’ – September 12, 2013
Apple’s iPhone 5S with biometric identification: Big Brother’s dream? – September 11, 2013