Hacker uncovers files suggesting Cellebrite used codes from jailbreak tools to defeat iPhone security
Cellebrite, the digital forensics company believed to have helped the FBI break the security of the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, may have repurposed other existing cracking tools used for jailbreaking iPhones, according to a new cache of files allegedly sourced from the security firm.
The hacker behind the breach of Cellebrite's servers in January is the same person behind the publication of the new files, reports Motherboard. The cache is said to include files used to gain access to data stored on smartphones, including older iPhones and devices running on Android and from BlackBerry.
The Israeli firm is known for providing a product to law enforcement agencies called the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED), a unit that can be connected to a smartphone and used to pull a variety of data from it, including text messages, emails, images, and other items. While the tool can bypass security measures in a large number of instances, its usage against iPhones are limited to models using earlier versions of iOS, and can be thwarted by strong encryption schemes.
