The FBI is telling senators how it hacked the San Bernardino iPhone

The FBI isn't keeping its new iPhone attack secret from everyone. The FBI has already briefed Sen Diane Feinstein (D-CA) on the methods used to break into the iPhone at the center of Apple's recent legal fight. Sen Richard Burr (R-NC) is also scheduled to be briefed on the topic in the days to come.

Sens Feinstein and Burr are both working on a new bill to limit the use of encryption in consumer technology, expected to be made public in the weeks to come.The disclosures come amid widespread calls for the attack to be made public, particularly from privacy and technology groups. However the FBI's new method works, the ability to unlock an iPhone without knowing its passcode represents a significant break in Apple's security measures, one Apple would surely like to protect against if it hasn't already. At the same time, law enforcement has a clear incentive to keep the attack secret, so as to use the same method in future cases.