Edit: I have not posted a source for this claim, because what sort of source would be acceptable for a claim of the form "X has not occurred"?
If you are going to claim Apple's security model has been compromised, you need not only evidence of such a compromise but also an explanation for why such an "obvious" and "cheap" vulnerability has not been disclosed by any number of white or grey-hat hackers.
- they can keep asking for backdoors to "stop terrorists"
- they're not on the hook if for whatever reason they can't access a particular phone in a very mediatized case
- most targets (the not so sophisticated ones at least) keep using a device the agencies have proper access to
Regardless of their actual technical means, I don't expect we ever get a "we sure can!" kind of public boasting any time soon.
"Since then, technologies like Grayshift’s GrayKey—a device capable of breaking into modern iPhones—have become staples in forensic investigations across federal, state, and local levels."
"In other cases where the FBI demanded access to data stored in a locked phone, like the San Bernardino and Pensacola shootings, the FBI unlocked devices without Apple’s help, often by purchasing hacking tools from foreign entities like Cellebrite."
1 - https://www.firstpost.com/tech/the-fbi-was-able-to-hack-into...