[tadfisher]

That's stretching the jargon a bit. I know that's what Cook said, but it could be a one-off process without the "custom build" leaving Apple's hands. Basically, comment out the time-delay and wipe code, build, sign, and push to the device.

Really the most important part there is the "sign" step, and the fact that the FBI isn't straight-up asking for the signing keys is telling; they didn't want this request to escalate the way it has.

[zaroth]

They don't want the signing key because that sets the wrong precedent.

The precedent they want is that All Writs can be used to force Apple into creating a backdoor.

The next step is an online attack backdoor which slurps data over LTE from a suspect's device while it is unlocked.