GOOGLE’S chief executive has sided with Apple in its battle with a judge who ordered it to help the FBI access information on the encrypted iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google, tweeted his support for Apple CEO Tim Cook, who posted an open letter on Tuesday night arguing that helping the FBI decrypt Farook’s iPhone would open the floodgates for possible future privacy violations and government surveillance.

“Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy.

“We know that law enforcement and intelligence agencies face significant challenges in protecting the public against crime and terrorism. We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders.

“But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data. Could be a troubling precedent. Looking forward to a thoughtful and open discussion on this important issue.”

1/5 Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy — sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

Meanwhile, families of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting are chastising Apple for refusing the federal order to hack into the phone of the dead terrorist.

“I feel like now there are a whole bunch of terrorists running out and buying iPhones, like the little ‘I’ in iPhone should be for ISIS,” Mandy Pifer, who lost fiance Shannon Johnson in the shooting, told the New York Daily News.

Rebel Tekleab, 35, the brother-in-law of 60-year-old victim Isaac Amanios, said his family supports personal privacy but believes an investigation is necessary.

Others have also taken to Twitter to condemn Apple’s position, unimpressed with the company’s decision to hinder a federal investigation into the deadliest domestic terror attack since 9/11.

So #Apple wants to protect scum that kill? I think customer privacy doesn't really pertain to this! I will NEVER buy an @AppleMusic product! — Jamie Gill (@Jamie__Gill) February 17, 2016

Simply do not understand @tim_cook saying no to court order unlocking gunman's phone. There is a war. Must protect Homeland. Cook wrong. — Larry Kudlow (@larry_kudlow) February 17, 2016

But Apple is arguing, however, that it would undermine encryption by creating a backdoor that could potentially be used on other future devices.

Not even Apple can decrypt an encrypted iPhone, according to the company. One of the major security advantages of Apple’s encryption is that the key needed to unlock the protected data is fused into the phone — and only on the phone, meaning not even Apple knows what it is.

The judge’s order requires Apple to create a unique software package — one Cook described as “a new version of the iPhone operating system” — that would allow investigators to bypass the self-destruct system. The same software would also let the government enter passcodes electronically, eliminating both the tedium of manual entry and the enforced delays the iPhone system imposes after a few wrong guesses.

The Obama administration has embraced stronger encryption as a way to keep consumers safe on the internet, but struggled to find a compelling example to make its case.

Cook said that the US government order would undermine encryption by using specialised software to create an essential back door that he compared to a ‘master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks.

“In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession,” Cook wrote.

“The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a back door.

“And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.”