LOS ANGELES — A much-anticipated court hearing on the federal government's effort to force Apple to unlock the iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino terror attack was abruptly vacated Monday after the FBI revealed it may have a way to access data without the company's help.

Federal prosecutors made the surprising announcement on the eve of today's hearing in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif. In court papers they said the FBI has been researching methods to access the data on Syed Rizwan Farook's encrypted phone since obtaining it on Dec. 3, the day after the attack.

“An outside party” came forward over the weekend and showed the FBI a possible method, the government said in court papers requesting the hearing be postponed. Authorities need time to determine “whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data” on the phone.

If viable, “it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple,” according to the filing.

The government did not identify the third party or explain what the proposed method entailed.

Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym granted that request and ordered the government to file a status report by April 5. Pym also stayed her Feb. 16 order compelling Apple to create software that would disable security features on the phone, including one that erases all information if a passcode is incorrectly entered more than 10 times.

In a conference call with reporters, Apple attorneys said it's premature to declare victory in the case because it's possible that authorities could come back in a few weeks and insist they still need the company's help. The attorneys spoke under an Apple policy that wouldn't allow them to be quoted by name.