San Bernardino iPhone Hack Tool Cost FBI ‘Under $1 Million’

The FBI paid under $1 million to the contractor who cracked the iPhone owned by the San Bernardino shooter, according to US government sources who spoke to Reuters.

This is a different figure than the $1.3 million figure FBI director James Comey had suggested last week. When asked how much the third party was paid for the hacking tool, Comey had replied that it was more than what he would make during the rest of his tenure, which is seven years and four months.

The identity of the third party that cracked the iPhone is reportedly a closely-guarded secret: according to the report, Comey does not even know their identity.

The sources told Reuters that although the tool is now owned by the FBI which it could use to unlock other iPhone 5Cs with iOS 9, the agency does not know details of the hacking method.

For more on this story, go to Reuters.