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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

+mobile

Phone-Hacking Tool Law Agencies Use Cost Just $100 on eBay [tomshardware.com]

When smartphone companies refuse to help law enforcement agencies access encrypted devices, investigators often turn to companies like Cellebrite, which offers its Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) to help them hack the phone in question to access secure data The problem? This week, Forbes reported that UFEDs [forbes.com]--which normally cost between $5,000 and $15,000--can now be bought on eBay [ebay.com] for as little as $100.

In addition to letting anyone with a likeness of Benjamin Franklin break into other people's devices, these used UFEDs were also found to contain data from previous investigations.

Forbes said Hacker House co-founder Matthew Hickey bought a dozen UFEDs to see what secrets they might contain. He reportedly found that the "secondhand kit contained information on what devices were searched, when they were searched and what kinds of data were removed," as well as the searched phones' IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) codes.

Related: Washington Post: The FBI Paid "Gray Hat(s)", Not Cellebrite, for iPhone Unlock [soylentnews.org]
Meeting Cellebrite - Israel's Master Phone Crackers [soylentnews.org]
Cellebrite Appears to Have Been Hacked [soylentnews.org]
Federal Court Rules That the FBI Does Not Have to Disclose Name of iPhone Hacking Vendor [soylentnews.org]

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