Why a future Apple-FBI case may go very differently

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Although it fiercely opposes the FBI's demand for help unlocking a San Bernardino shooter's encrypted iPhone, Apple has never argued that it simply can't do what the government wants.

[...] experts say it's almost certain that Apple and other tech companies will keep increasing the security of their products, making it harder or perhaps even impossible for them to answer government demands for customer data.

Smartphones and Internet services increasingly store a vast trove of personal information — everything from messages and photos to banking details to records of your movements.

The magistrate judge in the San Bernardino case canceled a hearing on the dispute this week after the government said an unnamed "third party" had come forward with a possible alternative to Apple's assistance.

Some commercial data-storage firms already promote services that let business customers hold the keys to their own encrypted data.

Microsoft president Brad Smith noted in a recent speech that his company supplied customer information to authorities investigating an extremist attack in Paris while the suspects were still at large.