The FBI has declined to tell the tech giant how it managed to access the iPhone 5c of Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino attackers, and appears prepared to attempt to duplicate the process in other cases.
Requests for assistance have come in from local authorities around the country who believe data stored on the iPhones of victims or suspects could be crucial to their investigations.
The FBI has now granted one such request, from prosecutors in Arkansas who asked for help accessing the iPhone of a teenager charged in a double homicide.