Cops Can Bypass iPhone's Automatic Reboot To Get Into Locked Phones
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: A company that makes phone hacking devices claims to have developed a solution that freezes iPhones in a state that lets cops more easily access sensitive data inside them, according to a video obtained by 404 Media. [...] The new technology to get around inactivity reboot was developed by Magnet Forensics, the company behind GrayKey, a popular…
A company called Magnet Forensics claims to have created a device that allows law enforcement to access data on locked iPhones, despite the phone's automatic reboot feature, according to a video obtained by 404 Media. The new technology, called GrayKey Preserve and Evidence Preservation Mode, was designed to bypass the iPhone's inactivity reboot feature and a function that automatically deletes certain data after a set period.
The video's unnamed Magnet employee expressed enthusiasm for the new solution, calling it a "game changer" for iOS forensics. However, a researcher at the Hasso Plattner Institute who studies iPhone security cautioned that it's difficult to determine exactly how the feature works based on the video alone. She suggested that Magnet may have manipulated the iPhone's clock, either by slowing it down or stopping it entirely, effectively preventing data from being automatically deleted.
The inactivity reboot feature was introduced to iOS in November 2024, making it harder for police to access data on iPhones that haven't been unlocked for 72 hours.
Written by urgent.news from Slashdot's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
