Israeli mobile forensics company Cellebrite is the 'third party' helping the FBI unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, reports the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper via Reuters.
Just hours before the Justice Department was set to face off against Apple in court, they requested the hearing be postponed after a third party demonstrated a method that could be used to unlock the iPhone.
If Cellebrite succeeds, then the FBI would no longer need Apple's help, possibly putting an end to the battle over encryption and backdoors into the iPhone, at least for now.
Here's how Cellebrite describes its mobile forensic capabilities:
Cellebrite mobile forensics solutions give access to and unlock the intelligence of mobile data sources to extend investigative capabilities, accelerate investigations, unify investigative teams and produce solid evidence. Cellebrite's range of mobile forensic products, the UFED Series, enable the bit-for-bit extraction and in-depth decoding and analysis of data from thousands of mobile devices, including feature phones, smartphones, portable GPS devices, tablets and phones manufactured with Chinese chipsets. In addition to mobile device data, UFED Cloud Analyzer provides extraction, preservation and analysis of private data residing in cloud environments such as social media accounts. Cellebrite's UFED Series is the prime choice of forensic specialists in law enforcement, military, intelligence, corporate security and eDiscovery agencies, with more than 30,000 UFED units deployed in more than 100 countries.
Notably, Edward Snowden and other security researchers have repeatedly said that unlocking this device is possible without Apple's help. It's unclear why the NSA hasn't assisted the FBI in this matter or why the FBI has claimed that only Apple can unlock the device.
Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.
Read More
Just hours before the Justice Department was set to face off against Apple in court, they requested the hearing be postponed after a third party demonstrated a method that could be used to unlock the iPhone.
If Cellebrite succeeds, then the FBI would no longer need Apple's help, possibly putting an end to the battle over encryption and backdoors into the iPhone, at least for now.
Here's how Cellebrite describes its mobile forensic capabilities:
Cellebrite mobile forensics solutions give access to and unlock the intelligence of mobile data sources to extend investigative capabilities, accelerate investigations, unify investigative teams and produce solid evidence. Cellebrite's range of mobile forensic products, the UFED Series, enable the bit-for-bit extraction and in-depth decoding and analysis of data from thousands of mobile devices, including feature phones, smartphones, portable GPS devices, tablets and phones manufactured with Chinese chipsets. In addition to mobile device data, UFED Cloud Analyzer provides extraction, preservation and analysis of private data residing in cloud environments such as social media accounts. Cellebrite's UFED Series is the prime choice of forensic specialists in law enforcement, military, intelligence, corporate security and eDiscovery agencies, with more than 30,000 UFED units deployed in more than 100 countries.
Notably, Edward Snowden and other security researchers have repeatedly said that unlocking this device is possible without Apple's help. It's unclear why the NSA hasn't assisted the FBI in this matter or why the FBI has claimed that only Apple can unlock the device.
Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.
Read More