A security contractor to the US government claims it’s able to unlock almost any iPhone on the market, according to a Forbes report.
This could be a huge breakthrough for law enforcement, which has fought with Apple in the past about unlocking devices from suspected criminals. But it could also create a major privacy issue for Apple customers.
Cellebrite, an Israel-based vendor, is used by several US law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, to unlock mobile devices, according to Forbes. Cracking into iOS devices is highly valuable to US law enforcement, who often criticize tech companies for its iron-clad encryption.
The article cites unnamed sources who claim the company has been telling customers that its engineers have the ability to skirt the security of Apple devices running iOS 11. This version of Apple’s operating system, available on its latest iPhone X and iPhone 8 smartphones, was just released in September and offers new features designed to make it harder for forensic experts to hack into iPhones.
Apple declined to comment on the story.
The Forbes story notes the company has not officially announced its new capabilities. The company cites unnamed sources who say Cellebrite sales representatives have been advertising these claims to law enforcement officials and private forensic firms around the globe. Without offering specifics, the company states in its marketing material that it’s capable of unlocking most iPhones and Android device.
“Cellebrite Advanced Unlocking Services is the industry’s only solution for overcoming many types of complex locks on market-leading devices,” the company states in its marketing material. While Cellebrite boasts about its own capabilities, it’s unclear what kind of information it’s able to extract from the latest iOS devices, if any.
The company was not available for comment on its reported new capabilities.
The news comes two years after Apple got into a legal tussle with the US Department of Justice over breaking into the phones of the two suspected terrorists in the San Bernardino, California shooting. Apple refused to help in unlocking the device and was taken to court by the government. A federal judge in the case ordered Apple to help unlock the phone, but before it was forced to comply with a court order, the FBI announced it had successfully unlocked the device with the help of a third-party. That third-party is believed to have been Cellebrite.
The FBI spent $900,000 on that digital break-in, an expensive receipt for a search that discovered “nothing of real significance.”
While the legal battle between Apple and the FBI may have been cut short, it spurred further debate in the ongoing battle over privacy and security. Technology companies and rights groups argue that strong encryption, which scrambles data so it can only be read by the right person, is needed to keep people safe and protect privacy. Law enforcement argues it can’t fight crimes unless it has access to information on mobile devices.
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