A Russia-based cybersecurity company said it found a new way into your locked iPhone.
Elcomsoft,Watch Ava Online which creates digital forensic software for governments and law enforcement agencies, saidon Friday that its iOS Forensic Toolkit can now extract some data from locked iPhones and iPads in Before First Unlock (BFU) mode.
The tool takes advantage of a vulnerability, known as the Checkm8 exploit, in certain iPhone and iPad models. The Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit sells for $1,495.
The BFU mode detail is important to note. BFU is the state an iPhone is in before a user unlocks the device for the first time after booting up or restarting the phone. It is the device's most secure state.
If you ever restarted your phone and then received a phone call from your mom before unlocking it, you may notice that her telephone number appears in the call notification instead of her contact name. That’s a function of the iPhone being in BFU mode.
As Elcomsoft puts it:
In Apple’s world, the content of the iPhone remains securely encrypted until the moment the user taps in their screen lock passcode. The screen lock passcode is absolutely required to generate the encryption key, which in turn is absolutely required to decrypt the iPhone’s file system. In other words, almost everything inside the iPhone remains encrypted until the user unlocks it with their passcode after the phone starts up.
It is the “almost” part of the “everything” that we target in this update.
The company discovered that some data in the keychain, which is where Apple stores a users’ passwords and other protected information, is actually accessible before a user unlocks the phone.
This data includes email usernames and passwords, according to the company.
While the forensic tool works on iPhones and iPads running on even Apple's most recent operating system, iOS 13.3, it doesn’t work on all models of the device. Devices that run on the A12 chip, like the iPhone XR, or the new U1 chip, like the iPhone 11, are immune to the vulnerability that phones that run on the earlier A-series chips — the iPhone 5S to the iPhone X— have.
Being that the forensic tool uses the Checkm8 exploit, it requires a jailbreak installation, known as Checkra1n, on the devices in BFU mode. However, this can be done while the iOS device is locked.
This news comes a little over a week after Apple’s iOS device encryption came under fire during a Congressional hearing. The Cupertino-based tech giant has been a strong advocate for security protocols that make it nearly impossible to pull private data off a user’s locked iPhone.
Apple claims that even it can’t access these locked devices. Some in law enforcement, like Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, have criticized Apple for these practices. These critics would now like Congress to step in and force companies like Apple’s hand.
The truth is that while it isn’t easy, there are a few security companies that have been able to bypass Apple’s encryption and crack into locked iOS devices. The Israel-based Cellebrite sells a $6,000 device which has been used by law enforcementto break into locked smartphones. U.S.-based Grayshift signeda deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this year for the use of the company’s iPhone hacking tool, GrayKey.
Elcomsoft’s latest tool just shows once again that even with Apple’s encryption, our smartphones aren’t as secure as we think.
Topics Apple Cybersecurity iOS iPad iPhone
NYT Strands hints, answers for May 18
Prepare to be entranced by these tiny cooking videos
How to create viral content: Try, try again
Amazon Echo Show review: The best of Alexa, on display
Whale Vomit Episode 5: Startup Monarchy
'Westworld' star James Marsden gives us a peek at Season 2 gunslinging
Ice Cube kicks off celebrity 3
Theme park nightmare takes a happy turn after one attendee falls 25 feet
NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 18: Tips to solve Connections #237
Say goodbye to finstas and hello to Instagram 'favorites'
Best Sony headphones deal: Over $100 off Sony XM5 headphones
Virgin Media thinks 800,000 users should change their router passwords
MashReads Podcast: Celebrating 20 years of 'Harry Potter'
MashReads Podcast: Celebrating 20 years of 'Harry Potter'
New MIT report reveals energy costs of AI tools like ChatGPT
Michelle Obama helps make Chance the Rapper's BET Humanitarian Award historic
Hinge is adding video. It's time to get yourself camera ready.
Ice Cube kicks off celebrity 3
A Typical Wall Street Republican
SNES Classic controller cables will be longer than 3 measly feet
More money, more content: Netflix announces plans to raise millionsChristian bakers lose 'gay cake' appealThis is the new spaceship that will take humans back to the moonHillary Clinton's excited face is every Chicago Cubs fan right nowMore than 300 very comfortable protesters march in yoga pants parade5 red flags that will make you rethink what you privately say about womenDonald Trump's first major newspaper endorsement is not exactly a shockerMinnesota Vikings running back shows off his brandItalian Coast Guard videos show refugees pulled to safety in Mediterranean SeaThe Walking Dead's latest death prompts fans to quit watchingElizabeth Warren had quite the response to Trump's 'nasty woman' commentKoala piggybacks her baby down a suburban street like it's NBDThis Scottish waste disposal company has the perfect email addressThe 'Doctor Strange' reviews are in, and they are magically deliciousThe best and worst iPods from the last 15 yearsKanye West is basically using Frank Ocean as his excuse to skip the GrammysElon Musk says we're going to Mars, and we're bringing tunneling droidsHere's why some people are getting $20 checks from LinkedInItalian Coast Guard videos show refugees pulled to safety in Mediterranean SeaFacebook renews efforts to fight bullying with Safety Center relaunch Six Young Women with Prize Wait! What Year Is This? by Rich Cohen Redux: Snap and Glare and Secret Life by The Paris Review Joseph Cornell, Our Queequeg by William N. Copley The Art of Distance No. 33 by The Paris Review The Art of Distance No. 24 by The Paris Review Building Character: Writing a Backstory for Our AI by Mariana Lin The Alien Gaze by C Pam Zhang Redux: The Things between Me and Time by The Paris Review The Art of Distance No. 25 by The Paris Review Memory Haunts by Imani Perry Staff Picks: Rats, Rereaders, and Radio Towers by The Paris Review Staff Picks: Night Skies, B Sides, and Neon Lights by The Paris Review Slow Violence by Lynn Steger Strong Redux: X Sends Regards by The Paris Review The Rings of Sebald by Daniel Mendelsohn The Art of Distance No. 27 by The Paris Review Redux: A Ball of Waxy Light by The Paris Review Redux: The Feeling of an Airplane Crashing by The Paris Review The Nature of Gary Snyder by Robert Hass
2.5855s , 8223.9609375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Ava Online】,Fresh Information Network