Posted on 04/07/2016 9:23:59 AM PDT by Swordmaker
FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that the government had purchased "a tool" from a private party in order to unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.
"Litigation between the government and Apple over the San Bernardino phone has ended, because the government has purchased, from a private party, a way to get into that phone, 5C, running iOS 9," Comey said.
Law enforcement officials revealed in late March that they had finally cracked the iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of two shooters in the December 2015 attack that left 14 people dead. But they did not go into details, other than to say an unnamed third party had provided assistance.
In an effort to access information stored on his phone, the government had pursued legal action in order to force Apple to help bypass the phone's security features.
Apple (AAPL, Tech30) declined to assist, saying that to do so would compromise the security of all iPhone users. The company argued that law enforcement officials didn't understand the consequences of creating a backdoor into the phone.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I saw the instructional videos on how to USE what Cellebrite is selling, their UFED Touch mobile device hacking device on their website. . . and it comes complete with all the tools to crack every thing they have the ability to crack . . . it comes in a case with every possible cable to connect to every possible cellular device and also to connect to computers and it also comes with the storage devices to save the captured data, or cables to hook the UFED Touch to a computer for forensic examination of the saved captured data directly. It was obvious that the Apple devices were iOS 7 and older, or those with A7 processors from the devices that flashed across the screen.
They also brought up a secondary video about their new ability for Apple devices that required a camera to watch the screen looking for a change in light intensity of an Apple device as their method BRUTE FORCED an iPhone by trying the possible passcodes over the space of several hours.
So, while I don't claim to be an "expert" on the subject of Cellebrite's products, but yes, I do know what I am talking about. . . and they are included with the device sold to the FBI. You are making up what you claimed out of whole cloth, CementJungle, which is a hallmark of you Apple Hate Brigade members.
I saw the instructional videos on how to USE what Cellebrite is selling, their UFED Touch mobile device hacking device on their website. . . and it comes complete with all the tools to crack every thing they have the ability to crack . . . it comes in a case with every possible cable to connect to every possible cellular device and also to connect to computers and it also comes with the storage devices to save the captured data, or cables to hook the UFED Touch to a computer for forensic examination of the saved captured data directly. It was obvious that the Apple devices were iOS 7 and older, or those with A7 processors from the devices that flashed across the screen.
They also brought up a secondary video about their new ability for Apple devices that required a camera to watch the screen looking for a change in light intensity of an Apple device as their method BRUTE FORCED an iPhone by trying the possible passcodes over the space of several hours.
So, while I don't claim to be an "expert" on the subject of Cellebrite's products, but yes, I do know what I am talking about. . . and they are included with the device sold to the FBI. You are making up what you claimed out of whole cloth, CementJungle, which is a hallmark of you Apple Hate Brigade members.
I saw the instructional videos on how to USE what Cellebrite is selling, their UFED Touch mobile device hacking device on their website. . . and it comes complete with all the tools to crack every thing they have the ability to crack . . . it comes in a case with every possible cable to connect to every possible cellular device and also to connect to computers and it also comes with the storage devices to save the captured data, or cables to hook the UFED Touch to a computer for forensic examination of the saved captured data directly. It was obvious that the Apple devices were iOS 7 and older, or those with A7 processors from the devices that flashed across the screen.
They also brought up a secondary video about their new ability for Apple devices that required a camera to watch the screen looking for a change in light intensity of an Apple device as their method BRUTE FORCED an iPhone by trying the possible passcodes over the space of several hours.
So, while I don't claim to be an "expert" on the subject of Cellebrite's products, but yes, I do know what I am talking about. . . and they are included with the device sold to the FBI. You are making up what you claimed out of whole cloth, CementJungle, which is a hallmark of you Apple Hate Brigade members.
Even more so, it can only work on two models of iPhone: the 5 and the 5C, and perhaps a couple of models of iPad and perhaps an iPod touch or two.
I'm thinking Comey is blowing smoke for the benefit of likely terrorist.
Sorry for the triplicate. . . I am sitting in an area with a very iffy cellular connection. Hit POST once, got three. JACKPOT. Too bad it doesn’t pay off. Strange.
Any terrorist is not going to buy a $400 (iPhone SE) to $900 (iPhone 6S Plus) phone when their own website recommends using a burner phone for under $50 that is anonymous, uses their recommended Android OS to run their terrorist Apps downloadable from their own Al Qaida and ISIS Terrorist App store, can be cheaply replaced after smashing the old one into smithereens, furnished with minutes by buying a card at every 7-11 of Walmart.
Don’t always believe what you see in a flash sales video. I can’t tell you how many times vendors have exaggerated and even outright lied in their sales material.
There weren't sales videos. There were their instructional videos on how to use the device that complemented their manuals. There were nothing about sales involved. SHEESH.
Not like breaking the Enigma code there,St.James!
Actually, it's harder than breaking the enigma code. . . by quite a few orders of magnitude. We're talking several decades of advancement in encryption, Dr. Ursus. This is not any mere substitution code or even anything linear. The iPhone is protected by a 256bit Advanced Encryption Standard encryption. The new iPhones passcodes are not stored on the devices at all. Instead, the passcodes are stored as a one-way hash inside an unreadable Secure Enclave that cannot be read from outside the device by any known means and that one-way hash is stored in a buried EEPROM that will be destroyed by any attempt to reach it.
Thanks,I didn’t make myself clear. I meant the info that was derived.
OK. . . Got it. The import of the data that could be derived from that iPhone cannot be anywhere nearly as important as knowing the German High Commands orders of the day. The most they might get is a place that Farouk might have stopped five months ago to meet someone who is also another Terrorist . . . or the names "Mohammad" and "Ali" of other terrorists who have fled the area.
“Is this even legal? Are we supposed to think that the FBI will only use it for good, now that they have it?”
Yes it is legal, as long as the FBI has a properly issued search warrant. If the FBI uses this tool in an improper manner to gather evidence, they will run the high risk that a judge will not allow that evidence in a court of law.
There really isn’t anything novel here. Ever since this country was founded, authorities have been allowed to seize property and search for evidence of criminal activity as long as they get a legal search warrant. Unlocking an iPhone is not any different than unlocking a home safe, a safety deposit box, a filing cabinet, or a desk drawer...
“Alright, they have been shooting off their mouths about getting in the phone’s backdoor. Now, WHAT DID THEY FIND!”
Have they been shooting off their mouths? No.
It would have been the ultimate case of irresponsible investigation to NOT unlock that terrorist’s phone. If they found no useful evidence, then no harm done (except to Apple and their Drama Queen CEO).
Probably, the only way the public will ever know if anything valuable was recovered from this phone is if there is a news leak, or if there are charges brought against terror associates based on evidence from the phone that is made public.
” Farouk did not smash his employment provided iPhone 5C because he never used it for any terrorism related activity. Ergo, the FBI found nothing probative or useful on the device. ...”
The fact that the terrorist did not destroy this phone does NOT prove that he never used it for terrorist activity. Terrorist (and criminals) can and often make stupid mistakes. The FBI HAS to do a proper and complete investigation, which includes unlocking this phone for any possible additional evidence.
“All your informations belong to us!
Ah, the post 9/11 world. Privacy versus security. Does old Ben’s supposed phrase apply?:
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.””
Our Founding Fathers were a VERY smart bunch of fellows. They knew that the rule of law had to be maintained, otherwise there would be anarchy. With anarchy, there would be no Liberty, or Safety (or even Privacy). But they also knew that government authority (law enforcement) would have to be checked against tyrannical abuse, thus the Fourth Amendment.
But, if someone engages in criminal (and terrorist) activity, the Fourth Amendment can and should be used to pierce their forfeited expectation of privacy.
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