In a report published on Thursday, The New York Times has said that quite a few high-level executives and software engineers at Apple would not comply with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s requests to weaken the existing iOS encryption, even if such a resistance on their part costs them their jobs at the bigwig tech company.

With Apple and the FBI involved in an encryption fight over the unlocking of an iPhone used by a San Bernardino shooter, The New York Times report has revealed that some of the top-rung Apple executives would deem it more befitting to quit their jobs, instead of yielding to the FBI's demand for the creation of a deliberately flawed iOS version.

According to the report, the employees apparently willing to put their jobs at stake in Apple's encryption fight against the FBI include "more than a half-dozen" current and former employees of the company.

The reported sentiment of the high-level employees at Apple echoes the vehement opposition which Apple's highest officials -- including CEO Tim Cook and SVPs Craig Federighi and Eddy Cue -- are already showing to the FBI's overtures for hardware access.

About the evident resistance to the FBI's demands by the high-level executives and software engineers at Apple, former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée said: "It's an independent culture and a rebellious one. If the government tries to compel testimony or action from these engineers, good luck with that."