Warning: All iPhones Can Be Unlocked

Cellebrite is no stranger to the US government. The company, based in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, is called upon whenever the US government needs to unlock a mobile device.

Cellebrite claims its technical team can unlock all iOS 11 devices, including the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

Forbes reported that an iPhone X was unlocked by the US Department of Homeland Security in November 2017 with the help of Cellebrite.

Cellebrite is a subsidiary of the Japanese Sun Corporation. While it has not revealed the technique it uses to hack iOS 11, the company says it has helped many governments unlock Apple devices.

Specifically, Cellebrite can bypass the security mechanisms of iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, iPad Pro and iPod touch using operating systems from iOS 5 to iOS 11.

Even new iPhone models like the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were beaten by Cellebrite. Notably, iOS 11 was only released last September, and was even praised by Cellebrite's rival Elcomsoft for being difficult to hack.

In fact, iOS 11 adds a number of protections to help prevent fingerprint unlocking, a technique once used by US police at crime scenes.

To crack an Apple device, investigators must send a sample to Cellebrite, which uses a secret lab exploit to unlock it and then sends the device back.

Investigators can retrieve the data themselves or have Cellebrite extract it. Once the device is unlocked, retrieving the data is straightforward.

Forbes said the unlocking cost was only about $1,500, much cheaper than the $1 million the US government spent hiring someone to unlock an iPhone in a previous criminal investigation.

Cellebrite can disable PINs, pattern locks, password-based screen locks, or passcodes on the latest iOS and Android devices. The danger is that Cellebrite can incorporate this technology into software and sell it to customers.

iPhone X Sacrifice

Also according to Forbes' source, it seems that the iPhone X has been tested by Cellebrite with the company's latest hacking technology.

Michigan police seized the iPhone X of suspect Abdulmajid Saidi during a criminal investigation late last year.

The device was sent to Cellebrite experts at the US Department of Homeland Security laboratory and data was extracted on December 5, 2017.

After the iPhone X was released, many people were concerned that the Face ID mechanism could make it easier for police to catch suspects when needed. Some researchers even claimed to have found a way to fool Face ID technology with masks.

The US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security did not comment on the matter. Unlocking iPhones and other Apple devices has always been a topic of interest to law enforcement in the US and other countries.

The iPhone was once a controversial topic when Apple refused the FBI's request to unlock the iPhone 5C used by the San Bernardino shooter.

The incident was so heated that Apple was sued, which was later dismissed when the FBI announced that it had found a way to unlock the suspect's iPhone.

The fisherman benefits.

It's clear that Cellebrite is the biggest beneficiary in the cat-and-mouse game between the US government and Silicon Valley's big tech companies.

The US government even sends experts to Cellebrite to be trained in how to hack mobile devices.

Cellebrite has several major clients, including the US intelligence agency and the FBI. Last year, Forbes revealed that the company had won several US government contracts, including a $2 million contract from the US Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is also a Cellebrite customer. The list of foreign government customers has not been disclosed, but Forbes believes it is not a small number.

On the user side, there is a vague fear that the iPhone they spent a lot of money on could betray them at any time. If Cellebrite’s technology becomes widespread, Apple will face disaster. Of course, Apple will never let that happen.