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BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones has met with representatives of the Israeli company Cellebrite, which helps police forces gain access to the data on the mobile phones of suspected criminals. They were rumoured to have aided the FBI in gaining access to the iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter (though some reports contradict this). From the article:
It's an Israeli company that helps police forces gain access to data on the mobile phones of suspected criminals.
Cellebrite was in the headlines earlier this year when it was rumoured to have helped the FBI to crack an iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter.
Now the company has told the BBC that it can get through the defences of just about any modern smartphone. But the firm refuses to say whether it supplies its technology to the police forces of repressive regimes.
[...] Mr Ben-Moshe claimed that his firm could access data on "the largest number of devices that are out there in the industry".
Even Apple's new iPhone 7?
"We can definitely extract data from an iPhone 7 as well - the question is what data."
He said that Cellebrite had the biggest research and development team in the sector, constantly working to catch up with the new technology.
He was cagey about how much data could be extracted from services such as WhatsApp - "It's not a black/white yes/no answer" - but indicated that criminals might be fooling themselves if they thought any form of mobile communication was totally secure.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:59PM
I might not have a problem with it if I somehow could actually believe that the spies were working in our best interests. Going after actual bad guys. And not going after people for a political or revengeful purpose. Not spying on our own citizens. Not spying on our allies and their politicians or their matters of internal business.
The National Security Letters and gag orders stink to high heaven. They want to ensure that it is impossible for people to have a private conversation. Or have private files.
Searching for a needle in a needle stack never seems to uncover an act of terror before it happens.
When each separate removal of our rights started, it may have been with the best of intentions. And was only intended to be temporary. But once allowed to continue it is nothing less than tearing up the constitution. They can keep repeating that what they are doing is legal. But it is not.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.