Despite early reports, experts agree that the leak of the iPhone Secure Enclave Processor firmware encryption key...

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should not pose a security risk and may even ultimately improve user security.

When a hacker and researcher going by the handle "xerub" released the firmware encryption key, the initial reaction was one of panic because the iPhone Secure Enclave is responsible for storing and processing highly sensitive data, as described by Mike Ash, software engineer and fellow at Plausible Labs, in response to the debate around the FBI wanting backdoor access to Apple's encryption:

"The Secure Enclave contains its own [unique ID] and hardware AES engine. The passcode verification process takes place here, separated from the rest of the system. The Secure Enclave also handles Touch ID fingerprint processing and matching, and authorizing payments for Apple Pay," Ash wrote in a blog post about iPhone Secure Enclave last year. "The Secure Enclave performs all key management for encrypted files. File encryption applies to nearly all user data."

While most iPhone system apps use Secure Enclave, and all third-party apps use it by default since iOS 7, Ash wrote, "The main CPU can't read encrypted files on its own. It must request the file's keys from the Secure Enclave, which in turn is unable to provide them without the user's passcode."