Read Apple's response to the FBI's San Bernardino iPhone hack

The dispute between the FBI and Apple over an iPhone connected to the San Bernardino terrorist shootings came to an unexpected end earlier today, as the FBI revealed it had managed to break into the phone without Apple's assistance. Details of how exactly it achieved this remain unclear.

"It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety," said the Department of Justice in a statement, "either with cooperation from relevant parties or through the court system."

Apple just issued a response of its own, and we've reproduced it below.

From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government's dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.

We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated.

Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.

This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion.