The mysterious party that is assisting the FBI in its quest to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c may have finally been revealed today, and contrary to previous theories, it’s not the NSA.
Cellebrite, an Israeli tech firm specializing in mobile forensic software, has reportedly offered to help the FBI unlock the iPhone. Citing industry sources, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper says if Cellebrite succeeds, the FBI will no longer need Apple’s help with the case.
Apple and the FBI have been battling each other on the public stage for weeks over a federal court order demanding Apple build software that will allow the FBI to unlock the terrorist’s iPhone. Apple has refused to comply with the court order, arguing that being forced to write software is a violation of the company’s right to free speech.
Cellebrite officials and the FBI have declined to comment on whether they are working together, according to a report from Reuters. However Twitter user Zen Albatrose discovered the FBI signed a $15,000 contract with Cellebrite on March 21st.
FBI signed a contract with iPhone-cracking firm Cellebrite the day it told the court it found an "outside party" pic.twitter.com/LoN9Wm3cCQ
— ᴢᴇɴ ᴀʟʙᴀᴛʀᴏss (@zenalbatross) March 23, 2016
The case between Apple and the FBI has been postponed until April 5th when the FBI will file a report on the progress it has made on hacking the iPhone. A hearing between the two sides was scheduled for Tuesday of this week, but a the US Justice Department requested to have the hearing canceled late Monday after a third party revealed a possible way to hack the device.
If the case does keep going Apple has demanded that the FBI reveal the exploit they use to hack the iPhone. Although Cellebrite may end the current legal battle between the two titans, the debate on how to find a balance between encryption and public safety is far from over.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
4 responses to “FBI teams up with Israeli firm to hack San Bernardino iPhone”
“FBI teams up with Israeli firm to hack San Bernardino iPhone”
Apple should create an iOS that is completely ironclad. Forget your password, too bad. Bad guys want to keep notes on it, very sad. Good guys want to get inside to find the bad guys, so sorry. Danger, treason and terror have always existed in this world, and the government having access to our cell phones won’t make us safer. On the contrary, it will only make us less secure in ways we know, and in ways we don’t.
It would have been better for Apple to cooperate with the FBI. Lesser of 2 evils. This way they would have some control on the exploit. Now that a third party from a foreign country is developing the back door, Apple will loose control and not even know that the encryption has been cracked. The NSA probably already cracked the encryption, but at least they keep it to themselves and use it for American interests. It is Ironic that the American government is paying a company from foreign country to hack the encryption on an American phone
The exploit was already there,now hopefully it will be patched by Apple.
Chances are the exploit has already been patched, or there is a hardware hack to extract the key (from flash, from RAM, or from the CPU via JTAG) on phones that do not have a Secure Enclave. Just because Cellebrite could do it to *this* iPhone doesn’t mean it would work on *all* iPhones… and it doesn’t mean Apple has to weaken their security. That is exactly why Apple was fighting the FBI.