$500 Device Can Hack the Password of Any iPhone 7 Running iOS 10 and 11

[Exterminator]

Following the December 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack, the FBI moved a dispute with Apple to court, seeking a judge ruling that would have had the Cupertino-based company hack a password-protected iPhone used by one of the shooters.

After Apple refused to help the investigators, the FBI eventually managed to unlock the device with help from an undisclosed group of hackers, who have been paid up to $1 million to get access to the data stored on the iPhone.

More than one year and a half after this famous case, it’s still a challenge for law enforcement to break into password-protected iPhones involved in criminal investigations, but a $500 device could really lend them a help.

This video posted the past weekend by EverythingApplePro proves how a small box that costs only $500 online can hack the passcode of an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus with minimum effort, using a loophole in iOS 10 and 11 beta.

The bug allows the device and dedicated software to launch a brute force attack and crack the password during the flashing process of iOS, which can be triggered by a third-party application (not with iTunes) without the need for the passcode.

Cracking 3 iPhones at the same time
The $500 device comes with just the minimum requirements, like USB, micro USB, and Lightning ports, and can hack 3 different iPhones at the same time.

Cracking the passcode is a process that can take anywhere from 1 minute to several days, depending on password complexity, but in the case of law enforcement, it’s clearly a Godsend, especially given Apple’s refusal to help them break into devices.

On the other hand, given that it uses a loophole in iOS, there’s a good chance Apple will patch it with a software update, though in the past the company hasn’t rushed into releasing fixes for security issues discovered in its operating system.

But with iOS 11 just around the corner, as it’s expected to go live the next month, Apple is more likely to release a patch, also because more devices like this one could hit the market at lower prices.

 

[Fritz]

Nice savings if they could have waited a bit. Your tax dollars at work.

BTT: While this is another fine example that everything that can be hacked eventually will be hacked, Apple does place a certain emphasis on security and I'd also expect a patch being in the works. It's the old hare vs. hedgehog.