Katie Benner

Now that the U.S. government has cracked open an iPhone that belonged to a gunman in the San Bernardino, California, mass shooting without Apple’s help, the tech company is under pressure to find and fix the flaw.

The Justice Department said on Monday that it had found a way to unlock an iPhone without help from Apple, allowing the agency to withdraw its legal effort to compel the tech company to assist in a mass-shooting investigation.

The Justice Department said Monday that it might no longer need Apple’s assistance to help open an iPhone used by a gunman in last year’s San Bernardino, California, mass shooting, leading to a postponement of a key hearing over the issue and potentially sidestepping what has become a bitter clash with the world’s most valuable company.

Apple engineers have already begun developing security measures that would make it impossible for the government to break into a locked iPhone using methods similar to those at the center of a court fight in California, according to people close to the company and security experts.

Apple’s chief executive has moved a once-secretive company into the center of highly charged social and legal issues, as illustrated by his standoff with federal officials over privacy concerns.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook said the judge's order could undermine encryption for millions of other users.