Apple says government lost access to shooter's iPhone backup by changing passcode

Senior Apple executives have accused the San Bernardino shooting investigation of making a major misstep during a conference call with reporters, multiple outlets are reporting. 

Apple and the government are battling over whether Apple must help the FBI extract data from an encrypted iPhone.

Apple is saying that the iPhone in question, used by shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, had its passcode changed within 24 hours of it coming into government possession.

If that hadn't happened, Apple thinks it might have been possible to access the phone without creating custom software to bypass the iPhone's passcode requirement. Apple says it has been in discussions with the government since early January. 

The senior Apple officials went on to add that they had suggested a workaround to extract information from the infamous iPhone that would have worked if the passcode had not been changed.

Apple argued that it is bringing it up now because the Department of Justice had mentioned the event in a Friday filing. 

Apple executives said they consider creating custom software for the FBI to be an undue burden, Bloomberg reported.