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Title    Researcher Bypasses iPhone 5c Security With NAND Mirroring
Date    Friday September 16 2016, @11:47PM
Author    janrinok
Topic   
from the NAND|DNAN dept.
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=16/09/16/148226

takyon writes:

Security researcher Sergei Skorobogatov has bypassed the iPhone 5c's firmware using NAND mirroring. The achievement comes too late for the FBI to save some money:

The FBI told Congress it couldn't hack the San Bernardino shooter's phone without Apple's aid, but a researcher has proved that claim was inaccurate. "The process does not require any expensive and sophisticated equipment," wrote University of Cambridge researcher Sergei Skorobogatov. "All needed parts are low cost and were obtained from local electronics distributors."

Security firm Trail of Bits argued earlier this year that it would be possible to replace the iPhone firmware with a chip that doesn't block multiple password attempts. You could then try every single one until you're in, a process that would take less than a day with a four-digit code, and a few weeks with a six-digit one.

[...] "Despite government comments about feasibility of the NAND mirroring for iPhone 5c it was now proved to be fully working," the paper says. That again lends credence to FBI critics who said that the FBI was only pushing for Apple's assistance to create a precedent in court. A magistrate judge ruled against Apple, so law enforcement could use that decision to make other companies cooperate in encryption cases.

Update: The Associated Press, Vice Media and Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, have sued the FBI for information about how the agency accessed the locked iPhone 5c.


Original Submission

Links

  1. "takyon" - https://soylentnews.org/~takyon/
  2. "bypassed the iPhone 5c's firmware" - https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/16/the-fbi-missed-a-trick-to-hack-the-san-bernardino-iphone/
  3. "too late" - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-30/fbi-said-to-work-with-israel-s-cellebrite-to-crack-iphone
  4. "told Congress" - https://www.engadget.com/2016/03/02/apple-fbi-encryption-congress-hearing/
  5. "proved" - https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1609/1609.04327.pdf
  6. "Trail of Bits" - https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/18/fbi-apple-iphone-explainer/
  7. "ruled" - https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/16/judge-tells-apple-to-help-fbi-access-san-bernardino-shooters-ip/
  8. "USA Today" - http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/09/16/usa-today-lawsuit-fbi-iphone-hack-san-bernardino/90477540/
  9. "sued the FBI" - https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/16/news-orgs-sue-fbi-for-details-on-san-bernardino-iphone-exploit/
  10. "Original Submission" - https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=15897

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