epa05171676 (FILE) A file picture dated 20 September 2013 shows a person using an Apple iPhone 5c mobile phone at an Apple store in New York, New York, USA. Apple chief executive Tim Cook refused the judge's order in an open letter posted on the company's website 16 February 2016 shortly after Judge Sheri Pym ordered the company to help the FBI access data they believe is stored on the iPhone linked to the San Bernardino, California, terrorists. The December 2 attack in San Bernardino was carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, at a holiday party at the county office where Farook worked. Fourteen people were killed. Police killed Farook and Malik later that same day in a shoot-out. The FBI wants Apple to help it hack into Farook's iPhone by building a new version of the iOS software that would circumvent security features and install the software on the iPhone, which was recovered during the investigation.  EPA/JUSTIN LANE