While Apple is waiting for her leakage that will reveal more information about exactly how the FBI was able to crack the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone, information obtained through unofficial channels reveals new details about who actually breached the device's security. 
At first, everyone believed that the FBI worked with the Israeli tech company Cellebrite to unlock the iPhone without deleting the data. However, according to a Washington Post publication invoking people who know the issue, the federations actually collaborated with a hacker team.
It seems that a hacker team contacted the FBI and suggested a different method of unlocking the device without losing data after 10 unsuccessful attempts to enter the password.
Everything was allegedly done due to the existence of an unknown vulnerability known to the hackers in iOS 9 and Apple doesn't seem to know about it until today. In addition to the specific vulnerability, the hackers also reportedly used a custom-built hardware to unlock the device securely.
The FBI has promised a reward to hackers who have undertaken to unlock the device, but the exact amount of money they have received is not known.
The Washington Post also reports that the hackers are part of a group that is "hunting vulnerabilities in software and gives it to the government,” and that this was not the first time he had worked with the FBI.
The custom-built hardware used to unlock San Bernardino's iPhone could be the main reason the FBI can't crack other Appliances.
