Your iPhone Password Can Be Bypassed By Law Enforcement In Two Minutes
March 28, 2012
Apple’s iDevices can be set to require a four-digit password. Now a new tool is available that allows law enforcement officials to bypass those passwords in as little as two minutes, according to BGR.
Crossing the line or justified?
Available now is a program from Micro Systemation, a Sweden-based company that offers law enforcement and military customers access to devices belonging to suspected criminals.
The software, called XRY, is able to crack an iOS or Android device’s password and then dump its content onto a Mac or PC. Items collected include: a user’s GPS location history, files, calls logs, contacts, messages and keystrokes.
According to the report:
XRY doesn’t use “backdoor vulnerabilities,” but rather “seeks out security flaws in the phone’s software,” similar to jailbreak exploits that can gain unrestricted access to an iPhone.Take a look at how XRY works: Still, the software doesn't always work. Says BGR:
Users who set longer passcodes can make a device far more difficult to crack according to the report, and in some cases it can take so long for software like XRY to work that officials give upPersonally, this news doesn’t come as a surprise. Assuming the tool is only being used on iDevices belonging to suspected criminals and not on the population as a whole, I’ve got no problems with it. Still, others may see this as yet another “Big Brother” step that is unwarranted. Are you comfortable knowing law enforcement officials may now have this simple tool to gain access to your files, or is this much to do about nothing for most people?
