FBI reportedly overestimated inaccessible encrypted phones by thousands

FBI director Christopher Wray estimated in December that it had almost 7,800 phones from 2017 alone that investigators were unable to access. The real number is likely less than a quarter of that, The Washington Post reports.

Supposedly having three databases tracking the phones led to devices being counted multiple times.

The idea that no one thought to check for duplicates before giving a number to the director for testimony in Congress suggests either conspiracy or gross incompetence.