DOJ Says That The Crack Of Syed Farook's iPhone Only Applies To That Model Of iPhone
from the that's-not-how-tech-works dept
Update: We've now added to the story that the DOJ is saying that CNN got the quote wrong, and the vulnerability applies to any iPhone 5C, which is more believable, but still raises questions. Original story, with a note appended is below.So late yesterday the Justice Department told magistrate judge Sheri Pym that it had successfully broken into Syed Farook's work iPhone and therefore no longer needed to continue with the court's order compelling Apple to write a new version of its iOS with security features removed. And then, in talking to the press, the DOJ apparently claimed the method only works for Farook's iPhone:
On Monday, the Department of Justice said the method only works on this particular phone, which is an iPhone 5C running a version of iOS 9 software.Perhaps the CNN reporter who wrote this really meant "this particular type of phone," in which case the statement would be only marginally more believable, but the idea that it only applies to "this particular phone" makes absolutely no sense, and suggests the DOJ is flat out lying again. The only way in that works with just this phone would be magically finding Farook's passcode (perhaps he left a post-it somewhere?). But if that was the case, the DOJ wouldn't have asked for two weeks to "test" the method (even if they only took one week). Finding the passcode and testing it doesn't take that long. Update: A DOJ spokesperson says that CNN got the quote wrong and that the actual statement was that the crack only applied to iPhone 5C devices.
And if it's any other method, it must have wider applicability to other iPhones. It's possible, if unlikely, that the method in question only works on iPhone 5Cs running iOS 9, but if it's a true vulnerability, it's likely that it impacts much more. It is true that later versions of the hardware include a chip called the Secure Enclave that might get in the way of certain vulnerabilities, but claiming that any such crack is limited to a specific phone is ludicrous.
And, of course, as we mentioned in the original post, if the DOJ really did find a vulnerability and refuses to share it with Apple, then the Justice Department is making us all less safe by refusing to reveal a potential security flaw that may impact tons of people. And then it's also lying about it publicly. Not a good look, but an all too typical one, unfortunately.
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Filed Under: crack, doj, fbi, iphone, syed farook, vulnerability
Companies: apple
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Pathogens!
OH Man we are all doomed now, those dormant cyber pathogens are going to be let loose! EVERYBODY RUN!Subscribe: RSS
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FOIA request
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It's known as the Montgomery Scott school of project estimation. It's good to see they at least have some competent techs working for them.
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Updated
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One of the FBI technician's kids showed them how to do it...
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Magic
Ahem.
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Something I don't understand
But now, "we hacked this phone" seems to be largely accepted. Why? Granted, this time it's actually a feasible statement, but they still have a lot to gain from lying. It's a permanent out from the case that has been a disaster for them. Consensus seems to be that the data would be largely useless, so why would they even make the effort? Without details of the hack and/or revealed data that could only have come from it, why should they be given an iota of trust? Them backing off of the hack in general supports this hypothesis.
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Re: Something I don't understand
I don't accept or reject the assertion. The FBI's word cannot be trusted, so there's no way I can determine how likely what they said is to be true.
But it also doesn't matter to me. I don't actually care one whit whether or not the feds manage to break into that phone. What I care about is preventing the feds from setting the precedent they were shooting for. Them dropping the case resolves that issue for me.
Although I completely expect that this will come up again. Next time, the feds will do their best to keep it out of the public eye.
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The only thing we know for certain...
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Re: Updated
So many different lies becomes difficult to manage.
CNN won't dispute the incorrect quote, no matter what the reporter thinks they heard, even if an audio recorder also mis-recorded it as saying the incorrect thing. Becuase CNN is the government's lap dog. That's why I quit watching after watching their astonishingly one sided coverage of Snowden in '13. And SOPA prior to that, but I kept watching.
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Re: One of the FBI technician's kids showed them how to do it...
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Did the FBI actually crack this phone?
But one thing I was clear about: this ruse was going to happen in order for the FBI to back out of this case before it might set a precedent they didn't want. Nevermind the bad PR they were getting. Better to try again another day, in a secret court.
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Pathogens!
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Re: Re: Something I don't understand
Said precedent could be resolved in two letters: NO.
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It's not like they can be held accountable for their lies, so what incentive is there to tell the truth.
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Re: The only thing we know for certain...
If we hope to have and keep liberty then the activities of Justice and its institution must live inside of a clear house.
It is impossible for a citizenry to remain free of tyranny when "State Security/Secret" can be used to hide government activity or used to incarcerate or punish others.
I only make 1 exception and that is Military application. But once a military tool is provided to any agency that deals with Citizens then it should be immediately declassified and the details made available to the public.
While not amazing that many people like you fail history to the detriment of the nation, it is still sad none the less.
Please obtain wisdom so that you may understand how fundamentally terrible it is to even entertain the idea that a government of 'secrets' could ever be anything other than corrupt.
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Fixed it.
Full stop.
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It does only apply to this phone...
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They KNEW all along of weaknesses in the iPhone OS, but hoped Apple would rollover and they could pretend THAT was the reason iOS was cracked.
Sadly Apple didn't play ball and now everyone knows.
Betcha Apple is currently HEAVILY vetting its iOS and OSX staff and making them turn over their bank statements to see who got paid off by the government....
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Re: Updated
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Re: Re: Re: Something I don't understand
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Re: It does only apply to this phone...
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Re: Re: Updated
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