The deal between Apple and the FBI took some back-and-forth turns over the course of February and March of 2016. With Apple’s iPhone and the FBI’s investigation of the San Bernardino attack, it is clear that the cyber wars and hacking epidemic will continue on and on.

To summarize the story, the FBI has been investigating the attack of an office in San Bernardino, California in December of 2015, where 14 people were killed and 20+ others injured in a terrorist plot. After that, the FBI stepped in to attempt to retrieve data off of one of the suspects’ iPhone. Authorities were initially unsuccessful in unlocking the iPhone to purge that data to help with their investigation. This is where Apple came into play. The FBI requested Apple to assist in unlocking the iPhone by which Apple said no. This caused a firestorm of reactions around the media and ultimately ended up in court. Over the ongoing weeks, the FBI and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook traded responses to the matter at hand. Cook’s stance of being unethical to unlock a user’s private phone vs the FBI’s stance of withholding critical information based on a terror plot that could potentially threaten society. Apple had support from other rivals, such as Google and Microsoft, and others like Facebook, that agreed on Apple’s stance against creating a hack for the FBI.

Near the 2nd half of March 2016, the FBI announced they were attempting to turn to outside hackers to assist in unlocking the iPhone without the help of Apple, and near the month’s end, were successful. This prompted the FBI to drop their case against Apple. Now, Apple’s response has been to find out from them how the hack was done. Yet another twist in what has already been 4 months of twists and turns.

When it comes down to it, Apple has had the first quarter of 2016 with eyes on them and the wonders of how safe it is to own a smartphone, not just an iPhone. Some may remember the celebrity hacks of 2014 that caused privacy issues when it came to cloud storage. So imagine the same thing, but with the average person and in far bigger numbers. The question becomes this: will more of these hacks continue or can there be more solutions in curbing this?

Sony’s been hacked before, Twitter’s been hacked as well. So has the government. Over the course of the last few years, hacking has been on the rise and with the continuing use of digital technology, this will still continue for years to come. But how will we be able to find peace in doing our daily activities without the fear of intrusion at a moment’s notice? Hire more ex-hackers to help become official crime-stoppers? Maybe. Security is a big deal. And everyone’s entitled to privacy…….sort of. When you go to Facebook, or go to Twitter or Instagram, you’re sharing information. When you unlock your iPhone and call or text someone, you’re sharing information. When you do your daily banking at an ATM, you’re sharing information. You get the point. Digital transactions can potentially result into something criminal without warning. Not everyone gets hit by it, but the fear factor in all this is something left undesired.

There can be understanding on both sides when it comes to the situation in unlocking personal data. But the fear is that sharing the idea to purge personal data just like that could result in unlocking a Pandora’s box of more issues and attempts of hacking, whether legally or illegally. As time moves forward and the ongoing dependence of digital technology continues, a question comes to mind. Will we ever have total privacy anymore, and if not, is it something we all just have to deal with? Whether you’re pro-Apple or pro-FBI, one thing’s for sure, the debate is FAR from over.