Apple to White House: San Bernardino request limited

The White House has said that a court ruling asking Apple to help the FBI access data on a phone belonging to the San Bernardino gunman does not mean asking for a "back door" to the device.

Spokesman Josh Earnest said the FBI was asking for access to a single device.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump slammed Apple for contesting the court order, saying "we should open it up", reports BBC News.

Apple chief Tim Cook says circumventing security software on the iPhone risks the security of all its customers.

In a statement, he said the court order was "an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers" that "has implications far beyond the legal case at hand".

The court had ordered the technology company to alter Farook's iPhone so that the FBI could make unlimited attempts at the passcode without the risk of erasing the data - Apple has provided default encryption on its devices since 2014, allowing only users with knowledge of the passcode to access its contents.