Israeli Firm Cellebrite to Help FBI Unlock Shooter's iPhone

[dgstorm]

It turns out that the FBI really did find a third party solution to help them try to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without involving Apple. According to the latest reports, the Department of Justice just signed a $15,000 contract with an Israeli firm called Cellebrite.

Cellebrite is a company which specializes in advanced mobile forensics data solutions to aid in investigations, corporate security, law enforcement and more. Here's a quote from their website describing their mission and services:

"Cellebrite mobile forensics solutions give access to and unlock the intelligence of mobile data sources to extend investigative capabilities, accelerate investigations, unify investigative teams and produce solid evidence. Cellebrite's range of mobile forensic products, the UFED Series, enable the bit-for-bit extraction and in-depth decoding and analysis of data from thousands of mobile devices, including feature phones, smartphones, portable GPS devices, tablets and phones manufactured with Chinese chipsets."

The primary means that Cellebrite is likely to take in order to "hack" the shooter's iPhone was described by UCLA technology fellow Daniel Kahn Gillmor. He believes they will use a technique called NAND mirroring.

This method copies the part of the phone's internal memory which counts the number of passcode attempts entered. Cellebrite can then continually restore the copy, so the FBI can bypass the limit passcode guesses which can normally be entered before the device is bricked.

Source: MacRumors

 

[APX7000]

$15K? Are you kidding me! That's peanuts for what they are doing! Cheap US government. The physical hardware equipment used for this NAND mirroring costs more than $15K.

If any country can pull off this, it's Israel. Don't ask me why, but they have been the experts at reverse engineering and hacking stuff like this for the past 20 years.

I just hope Apple sees how their iPhone is going to be hacked, and steps up their security on their new processors and crypto IC's to prevent this in the future. Apples IC's used now don't incorporate any physical hack deterrents like acid/base etching chemicals to gain physical access to the raw silicon IC. Hope by the time the 7S is released, Apple has stepped up their IC security to prevent any physical attacks to the chip itself.

 

[APX7000]

This iPhone in question has been unlocked by the Israel company. No need to pester Apple any longer.

FBI drops orders against Apple, says it cracked San Bernardino iPhone

Apple needs to step up their security now!!!

 

[scifan57]

Also, because the FBI has dropped it's case against Apple, there's a good chance we'll never know just what exploit was used to crack the iPhone 5c in question.

 

[scifan57]

Here's the copy of the DOJ request to vacate the case against Apple. DOJ Requests SB iPhone Order Vacated

 

[brixtonboy]

Or are they just bluffing ???


Gregory Isaacs r.i.p.

 

[scifan57]

Or are they just bluffing ???


Gregory Isaacs r.i.p.

Not this time. The document I linked to is an official document asking the court to vacate the action against Apple.

 

[brixtonboy]

Official document don't doubt that the document is. But are the facts ???




Gregory Isaacs r.i.p.

 

[scifan57]

It would have to be. Lying in an official court document is a serious crime. We may never know just what, if anything, was on the iPhone in question, though.

 

[brixtonboy]

Yes would have to agree, no official HAS ever lied in an official document, never ever, no sir.




Gregory Isaacs r.i.p.

 

[brixtonboy]

In the words of Gregory himself, the cool ruler

Be careful of your friends, now that you know all your enemies

R.I.P.


Gregory Isaacs r.i.p.