The Associated Press, USA Today, and Vice Media have sued the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday to know how much was spent to break into the locked iPhone 5C belonging to San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook.
Trio has filed a lawsuit saying that there is no lawful basis for the FBI to keep such records a secret.
“The public has a right to know whether the vendor that helped crack the iPhone in question has enough security measures in place and will act only in the public interest,” trio added.
“Understanding the amount that the FBI deemed appropriate to spend on the tool, as well as the identity and reputation of the vendor it did business with, is essential for the public to provide effective oversight of government functions and help guard against potential improprieties,” said the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
The FBI claimed to got access to the iPhone with the help of a vendor, after a month when the FBI lost a court battle with Apple to unlock the iPhone by bypassing security.
The FBI has not said who provided the exploit or how much it paid. FBI Director James Comey intimated in April that the price had been more than $1 million. He later said the security exploit was “well worth” the high price.