FBI paid more than $1.3 million to break into San Bernardino iPhone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Thursday the agency paid more to get into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters than he will make in the remaining seven years and four months he has in his job.

According to figures from the FBI and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Comey's annual salary as of January 2015 was $183,300. Without a raise or bonus, Comey will make $1.34 million over the remainder of his job.

That suggests the FBI paid the largest ever publicized fee for a hacking job, easily surpassing the $1 million paid by U.S. information security company Zerodium to break into phones.

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in London, Comey was asked by a moderator how much the FBI paid for the software that eventually broke into the iPhone.

"A lot. More than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months for sure," Comey said. "But it was, in my view, worth it."

The Justice Department said in March it had unlocked the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone with the help of an unidentified third party and dropped its case against Apple Inc , ending a high-stakes legal clash but leaving the broader fight over encryption unresolved.

Comey said the FBI will be able to use software used on the San Bernardino phone on other 5C iPhones running IOS 9 software.

There are about 10 million 5C iPhones in use in the United States, according to estimates from research firm IHS Technology. Eighty-four percent of iOS devices overall are running iOS 9 software, according to Apple.

The FBI gained access to the iPhone used by Rizwan Farook, one of the shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California on Dec. 2.

The case raised the debate over whether technology companies' encryption technologies protect privacy or endanger the public by blocking law enforcement access to information.

(This version was officially corrected to change active U.S. 5C iPhone estimates to 10 million from 16 million in paragraph 8 after analyst IHS corrects figure.)

(Reporting by Julia Edwards in Washington; additional reporting by Julia Love in San Francisco; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

Why did Prince die?

 By Piya Sinha-Roy and Jill Serjeant (Reuters) - An autopsy on U.S. music superstar Prince on Friday sought to determine why the innovative performer died, but authorities cautioned it could take weeks before the results are made public. The intensely private musician, whose hits included “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry,” was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday at the age of 57, shocking millions of fans around the world and prompting glowing tributes by fellow musicians. The local Carver County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances of his death, and Sheriff Jim Olson was due to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET, 2000 GMT). Olson’s spokesman cautioned, however, that the investigation was ongoing and that the sheriff may be unable to answer the most pressing questions. The influential star, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found unresponsive in an elevator at the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived in the suburb of Chanhassen, authorities said. The local medical examiner’s office conducted a post-mortem examination on Friday morning for four hours, but said its results could be some time coming. The body will be released to the family later on Friday, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office added in a statement. “As part of a complete exam, relevant information regarding Mr. Nelson’s medical and social history will be gathered. Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration,” the statement said. No information will be released until all results have been obtained, it added. “Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks,” the medical examiner’s office said. Prince’s music blended styles including rock, jazz, funk, disco and R&B, and it won him seven Grammy Awards as well as an Oscar. He had been on a U.S. tour as recently as last week. But he was briefly hospitalized a week ago after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, suffering from what his representative told celebrity news website TMZ was flu. Nevertheless, the star hosted a party at Paisley Park last Saturday night at which one attendee said Prince played two tunes on a piano and then introduced fans to his doctor. ‘REMARKABLE LOSS’ Prince first found fame in the late 1970s before becoming one of the most inventive forces in American pop music. On a trip to London, U.S. President Barack Obama said he listened to “Purple Rain” and “Delirious” on Friday morning at the U.S. ambassador’s residence to get “warmed up” for his meetings. “I loved Prince … It’s a remarkable loss,” Obama told a news conference. As well as singing and songwriting, Prince played multiple instruments including guitar, keyboards and drums. A Jehovah’s Witness and a strict vegan, he sold more than 100 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Record producer L.A. Reid told NBC’s “Today” show on Friday that he was perplexed by the death of his friend. “The Prince I know was super-healthy, vegan, wasn’t an abuser of drugs, wasn’t an abuser of alcohol,” Reid said. “He was clean and he looked young and he looked really healthy and vibrant, so the whole thing is really mysterious to me.” During his life, Prince was known as fiercely determined to protect his intellectual property. How others might profit from his legacy hinges on how astute he was about arranging for control of his music after death. Twice divorced with no surviving children, he apparently lacked any immediately identifiable heirs. Ex-wife Manuela Testolini said that as well as being a husband and friend, Prince had been a “fierce philanthropist” who encouraged her to set up her own charity. She had contacted him only a few days ago, she added, to tell him she was building a school in his honor. “I am heartbroken beyond words,” Testolini said in a statement on Friday. (Additional reporting by Jane Ross in Minneapolis, Alex Dobuzinskis, Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Frances Kerry and Cynthia Osterman)