Ever since the terrorist shootings in San Bernardino last December, the FBI has been trying to hack into the iPhone of shooter Syed Farook in hopes of finding message files that might reveal if he had any help.

But they’ve been flummoxed by the iPhone’s rock-solid system.

Now, a judge has ordered Apple to hack its own system and open up Syed’s phone.

Related: Why not train gun dealers to spot wannabe terrorists?

But notice Apple was only saying it wouldn’t hack the iPhone. It wasn’t saying it couldn’t hack the iPhone because it could. Apple can program an iPhone to do anything it wants. That’s the nature of a computer.

The old dial phone in my upstairs hallway is 100 percent un-hackable. When you hang it up, the microphone is physically disconnected. But you can never be sure about a smartphone.

How do we know there isn’t already a back door?

My iPhone is always updating its operating system. It could be doing anything.

Ever looked inside an iPhone? I have. It looks like Manhattan at about 5:30 p.m. There are all sorts of sensors and antennas, including three microphones! They could all be on. Both cameras could be on. The GPS could be tracking you, and the screen could still be dark so you’d never know.

It’s true, Apple is taking a big risk to protect our privacy. But the only way to be absolutely 100 percent sure that your smartphone isn’t playing peek-a-boo is to lose it somewhere.