Apple Inc. suffered one major casualty in its legal victory over the FBI: bragging rights over the iPhone's security.
The FBI's decision to abandon its effort to force Apple to help break into a terrorist's handset marks a win for the company. Yet the agency's claim that it found a way to hack into the device via an anonymous third party deals a blow to customers' faith in the iPhone's ability to protect their information.
"It's not the best news for Apple," said Chris McClean, a data security researcher at Forrester Research Inc. "The Apple brand takes a little bit of a hit here. Because we don't have details, customers are still going to question whether or not their device is safe. If one company can get into it, then potentially that exploit is reusable for any device."