Johns Hopkins researchers find flaw in iMessage encryption

[...] new research shows that Apple's security isn't as impenetrable as both the company and its critics claim.

[...] perhaps more significantly, the discovery is a blow to government arguments that Apple's encryption technology makes it impossible for law enforcement to access information stored on devices connected to criminal investigations.

Some government and law enforcement officials argue that companies that use encryption in their products and services should be required to include a so-called "back door," which would give law enforcement officials armed with warrants a way to access encrypted information as part of investigations.

Apple has come under fire for refusing to create and provide the government with a software tool that would help investigators unlock an encrypted iPhone used by one of the killers in the San Bernardino mass shooting.