Apple said it couldn’t do it.
The FBI said it failed too.
A third party forensics company in Israel succeeded at unlocking an iPhone.
It has long been rumored that when the feds failed on their own to gain access to a locked iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terrorists, they eventually got it open through a 3rd party. And now that third party has confirmed that indeed they can get access to any locked iPhone. There are multiple Phone Forensic Experts working for companies all around the globe and are often crucial when law enforcement needs to find digital evidence. However, this raises debate surrounding the morals and rights of privacy for everyday citizens.
Hear me drill into this topic more on my first podcast!
Cellebrite, the Israeli-based forensics contractor using brute-force can access a locked iPhone including all version up the current iOS release 11.2.X at the time of this article.
The ‘Advanced Unlocking and Extraction Services’ team at Cellebrite isn’t telling how they are cracking Apple’s encryption, but a leading theory points to a possible software manipulation in iOS that fools an iPhone into reseting its counter for each attempt at a passcode. Apple’s iOS device protection locks out and erases the device after 10 failed attempts for those opting for the most careful security setting.
How to make it harder for your iPhone or iPad to be unlocked.
1/ Strengthen your passcode
2/ Avoid using simple 4 digit passcode
3/ Use alphanumeric complex passcode with letters and numbers
Worst Passcodes Ever
And above all, if you are using any of these easily cracked codes, change it immediately.0000
1111
2580
1234
0000
The more complicated the passcode, the more difficult and time consuming it will be for your phone to get hacked into an unlocked status.