A federal judge ordered Apple to comply with the FBI’s request for technical assistance in the data recovery from the San Bernardino gunmen’s iPhone 5C.

In an open-letter published on Apple’s website, Tim Cook publicly challenged the US government and the FBI, saying what it is asking of the company fundamentally violates the privacy, security, and trust of its customers.

The White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the FBI request for access did not mean they were asking for a “back door” or unauthorized access into the company’s device or for it to be redesigned. “They are simply asking for something that would have an impact on this one device”.