Forbes:
Cellebrite, a Petah Tikva, Israel-based vendor that’s become the U.S. government’s company of choice when it comes to unlocking mobile devices, is this month telling customers its engineers currently have the ability to get around the security of devices running iOS 11. That includes the iPhone X, a model that Forbes has learned was successfully raided for data by the Department for Homeland Security back in November 2017, most likely with Cellebrite technology.
As the Forbes article points out, this prose is on the Cellebrite media datasheet:
Devices supported for Advanced Unlocking and Extraction Services include:
Apple iOS devices and operating systems, including iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, iPad Pro and iPod touch, running iOS 5 to iOS 11
Google Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy and Galaxy Note devices; and other popular devices from Alcatel, Google Nexus, HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, ZTE, and more.
If true, that Forbes headline seems a fair statement.
How comforting.
I guess if there’s any plus side to this, it’s a) They would need to have physical possession of your device as opposed to Chinese hackers getting in remotely, and b) Apple is hopefully also aware of the techniques they’re using and can plug up those security holes.
Hackers can now get in as well, about two minutes after the Feds got it. Time to encrypt documents inside your iPhone if you want to keep everybody out.
How would Apple discover it? Pretty sure Cellebrite would keep those cards close to its chest.
Any better argument for keeping iOS up to date?