Both Grayshift and Cellebrite cater to law-enforcement agencies. The use of such equipment is controversial, and Apple has taken a hard-line stance on scenarios involving cracking its security: In 2016, it refused to help the FBI break into an iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter. Then there’s the potential for this sort of technology to fall into the hands of rogue nation-states or criminals.
Which is why, in iOS 12, Apple has implemented a “Disable USB Access” access feature that blocks the ability for the iPhone to transfer data to a USB device, like the GrayKey, if the correct passcode hasn’t been entered on the device in the last 60 minutes. That timeframe is way too short for the GrayKey to work its security-defeating magic. In other words, Apple is bricking the GrayKey and other devices like it. That’s bad news for Grayshift and the organizations that have shelled out up to $30,000 for its box.
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Good!
No, you are mischaracterizing what happened in the San Bernardino terrorist case. Apple VOLUNTEERED to assist unlocking the specific iPhone 5 in question but the San Bernardino County authorities and the FBI declined the offer, saying, "No, we'll handle it ourselves." and proceeded to change the terrorist's AppleID completely locking the device even beyond Apple's ability to unlock it.
The FBI THEN went to Federal Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym and got an All Writs Court Order THEIR attorney wrote ordering Apple to create a NEW VERISION of iOS that would run from RAM that would bypass the built-in security of the iPhone and then DELIVER it to the FBI. This court order was not a search warrant, but rather an order to do something OUTSIDE of Apple's normal business practices, something the US Supreme Court has ruled an All Writs order CANNOT ORDER any business to do. In addition, the All Writs order was an illegal court order violating the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) which specifically PROHIBITS police agencies and the courts from doing what that court order was specially ordering Apple to do. These two legalities were the reasons that court order was VACATED.
On the other hand, Apple DID comply with the search warrant they received and provided the authorities the entire contents of Farouk Said's iCloud data, including the backups of that iPhone. . . before the authorities even TRIED to unlock it, refusing Apple's volunteered help.
Last week another Freeper called me a liar on all of the above and I then provided LINKED proof on every single word of it from authoritative sources, including the ALL WRITS COURT ORDER, the history and decisions on All Writs court orders, etc, and contemporaneous articles about Apple's actions vis-a-vis volunteering to assist unlocking Said's device and being rebuffed.