They said they did. . . and found exactly what I predicted they would, given that the terrorist was a devout Muslim who would not steal his employer's property. There was nothing on the iPhone 5c, aside from a few incoming calls from his wife, other than business calls, mails, and messages having to do with customer service for San Bernardino County. There had to be a reason it was not destroyed with their burner phones. . . and that was he would not use that iPhone, which belonged to his employer, for anything not business, just as he would not steal it by destroying it. As a devout Muslim, he had to be ritually clean when he killed the infidels. . . and that meant to him, without sin. Stealing was a sin.
The method the Israeli firm use was a complete duplication of the iPhone 5c in every aspect including all the encryption portions. . . they essentially made 10,000 virtual copies of the terrorist's iPhone and then tried every possible passcode until they hit the correct one. That's why it cost $1 million and six months to crack it.
Keep in mind that this was an iPhone 5c that did not have the superior hardware and OS that was put into iOS 8 and the iPhone 5s, 6, and later. It was far easier to gain access to the secure areas on the 4s, 5, and 5C, than on later iPhones. . . which is what this approach will work on.
Very interesting. Thanks!