FBI seeks Apple's help unlocking phones of suspected Pensacola naval station gunman

guest · Jan 7, 2020

FBI seeks Apple's help unlocking phones of suspected Pensacola naval station gunman
January 7, 2020
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...ing-phones-suspected-pensacola-naval-n1111636

In a letter sent late Monday to Apple's general counsel, the FBI said that although it has court permission to search the contents of the phones, both are password-protected. "Investigators are actively engaging in efforts to 'guess' the relevant passcodes but so far have been unsuccessful," it said.
The letter, from FBI General Counsel Dana Boente, said officials have sought help from other federal agencies, as well as from experts in foreign countries and "familiar contacts in the third-party vendor community."

Apple on Monday said the company had been working with the government.
“We have the greatest respect for law enforcement and have always worked cooperatively to help in their investigations," Apple said in a statement.
Click to expand...

https://www.macrumors.com/2020/01/07/fbi-apple-naval-air-station-report/
Based on its statement, it appears that Apple will continue to take a hard line on refusing to unlock iPhones for the FBI.
Click to expand...

zapjb · Jan 7, 2020

The 3letters already can gain access. They are playing possum & or trying to get more permissive rulings from the courts to use in other instances. For when they genuinely can't get into devices with uncooperative companies unlike roll over like a pet dog apple corp.

guest · Jan 7, 2020

FBI asks Apple to break the encryption on an iPhone again
So far the issue has not become heated, but Cupertino has only turned over data stored on iCloud servers
January 7, 2020
https://www.techspot.com/news/83447-fbi-asks-apple-break-encryption-iphone-again.html

A hot potato: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has two iPhones that it believes are linked to the deadly shooting that happened at the Pensacola naval base in Florida last month. The FBI has reportedly asked Apple for help in unlocking the devices.

With Apple only able or willing to provide data stored on the cloud, and Alshamrani dead, investigators are stuck wondering if any clues as to motive and if the shooter was acting alone could be stored locally on the devices.
The last time the FBI went to Apple with a similar request was after the 2015 San Bernardino shooting. In that case, the FBI demanded Apple crack the device even going so far as to take the company to court. It subsequently accessed the contents on the iPhone with the help of a third-party and dropped its demands.

Regardless, investigators are determined to get the contents contained on the phones.
Click to expand...

hawki · Jan 13, 2020

"AG Barr Calls Out Apple For Not Providing ‘Substantive Assistance’ To Unlock Pensacola Shooter’s iPhones

In a Monday press conference, U.S. attorney general Bill Barr said the December shooting at a Pensacola naval air base...was 'an act of terrorism'... and Barr called out Apple for not helping the Department of Justice (DOJ) to unlock the gunman’s phones:

'We have asked Apple for their help in unlocking the shooter’s iPhones. So far Apple has not given us any substantive assistance. We call on Apple and other technology companies to help us find a solution so that we can better protect the lives of Americans and prevent future attacks,' Barr said at the press conference..."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisett...lock-pensacola-shooters-iphones/#59fcd27c341f

NB: During the press conference, Barr stated that the alleged terrorist-shooter tried to destroy his iphones by shooting them -- the FBI was able to repair them -- the attempted act of destruction has heightened the perceived value of the phones' content.

guest · Jan 14, 2020

Apple rejects claims it did not provide assistance in Pensacola shooting probe
January 14, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...nce-in-pensacola-shooting-probe-idUSKBN1ZD074

Apple Inc on Monday said it rejects “the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance” in the investigation into a shooting in Pensacola, Florida, last month.

Apple’s comments came after U.S. Attorney General William Barr called [...] on the technology company to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation unlock two iPhones involved in the case.
In its statement, Apple said it responded to all queries from law enforcement officials and turned over all information that it had access to. The company said it received the first inquiry on Jan. 6 but was not notified of a second iPhone until Jan. 8. It also said its engineering teams “recently had a call to provide additional technical assistance” to the FBI.
Click to expand...

hawki · Jan 14, 2020

POTUS steps in and ups the pressure on Apple to backdoor the Pensacola gunman's phones.

"We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW!..."

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1217228960964038658

guest · Jan 14, 2020

Apple Takes a (Cautious) Stand Against Opening a Killer’s iPhones
January 14, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/technology/apple-iphone-pensacola-shooting.html

Apple is privately preparing for a legal fight with the Justice Department to defend encryption on its iPhones while publicly trying to defuse the dispute, as the technology giant navigates an increasingly tricky line between its customers and the Trump administration.

Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has marshaled a handful of top advisers, while Attorney General William P. Barr has taken aim at the company and asked it to help penetrate two phones used by a gunman in a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla.
Executives at Apple have been surprised by the case’s quick escalation, said people familiar with the company who were not authorized to speak publicly.

This time, Apple is facing off against the Trump administration, which has been unpredictable.
Click to expand...

The Pensacola gunman’s phones were an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 7 Plus, according to a person familiar with the investigation who declined to be named because the detail was confidential.
Those phones, released in 2012 and 2016, lack Apple’s most sophisticated encryption.

Security researchers and a former senior Apple executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity said tools from at least two companies, Cellebrite and Grayshift, have long been able to bypass the encryption on those iPhone models.

“The iPhone 5 is so old, you are guaranteed that Grayshift and Cellebrite can break into those every bit as easily as Apple could,” said Nicholas Weaver, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, who has taught iPhone security.
In the current case, Mr. Barr and other Justice Department officials have said they have exhausted all options, though they declined to detail exactly why third-party tools have failed on these phones as the authorities seek to learn if the gunman acted alone or coordinated with others.
Click to expand...

hawki · Jan 14, 2020

"Apple Takes a (Cautious) Stand Against Opening a Killer’s iPhones

The Silicon Valley giant is preparing for a legal fight over encryption, even as it works to reduce tensions with the Justice Department...

...there is frustration and skepticism among some on the Apple team working on the issue that the Justice Department hasn’t spent enough time trying to get into the iPhones with third-party tools, said one person with knowledge of the matter...

The Pensacola gunman’s phones were an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 7 Plus,..

Those phones, released in 2012 and 2016, lack Apple’s most sophisticated encryption. The iPhone 5 is even older than the device in the San Bernardino case, which was an iPhone 5C...

...tools from at least two companies, Cellebrite and Grayshift, have long been able to bypass the encryption on those iPhone models.

Security researchers speculated that in the Pensacola case, the F.B.I. might still be trying a brute-force attack to get into the phones. They said major physical damage may have impeded any third-party tools from opening the devices. The Pensacola gunman had shot the iPhone 7 Plus once and tried destroying the iPhone 5,...

Security researchers and the former Apple executive said any damage that prevented third-party tools from working would also preclude a solution from Apple...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/technology/apple-iphone-pensacola-shooting.html

hawki · Jan 14, 2020

hawki said: ↑

"Apple Takes a (Cautious) Stand Against Opening a Killer’s iPhones

The Pensacola gunman’s phones were an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 7 Plus,..

Those phones, released in 2012 and 2016, lack Apple’s most sophisticated encryption. The iPhone 5 is even older than the device in the San Bernardino case, which was an iPhone 5C...

...tools from at least two companies, Cellebrite and Grayshift, have long been able to bypass the encryption on those iPhone models.
Click to expand...

So why is Barr blowing so much smoke at Apple ?? (Umm -- Using a high-profile/flag-waving case to push his pro-backdoor/anti-encryption agenda)

"Security experts say U.S. can crack iPhone 5 and 7 passcodes

The FBI Can Unlock Florida Terrorist’s iPhones Without Apple"

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ock-florida-terrorist-s-iphones-without-apple

"As Justice Department Pressures Apple, Investigators Say iPhone Easier to Crack

Security experts question necessity of latest battle over encryption as new tools emerge

The escalation of a long-running encryption conflict between the Justice Department and Apple Inc. has puzzled security experts who say that new hacking tools have made it possible to gain access to many of the company’s devices in criminal investigations..."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-jus...gators-say-iphone-easier-to-crack-11579010143

zapjb · Jan 14, 2020

Yes exactly as I said. TY for posting.

The 3letters are playing possum & or trying to get more permissive rulings from the courts to use in other instances.

guest · Jan 15, 2020

Mnuchin urges Apple, other tech companies to work with law enforcement
January 15, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...es-to-work-with-law-enforcement-idUSKBN1ZE1Q7

Apple Inc and other technology companies should cooperate with U.S. investigators, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday as law enforcement officials continued probing last month’s fatal shooting at a U.S. naval base in Florida.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump lashed out at Apple in a tweet for refusing to unlock phones in criminal investigations while the company benefited from the federal government’s help on trade issues.

“I understand the president’s view, and it is absolutely critical for our technology companies to cooperate with law enforcement,” Mnuchin told CNBC in an interview.
Mnuchin later told reporters at the White House that he had not discussed the issue with Apple and did not know the specifics at hand. “I know Apple has cooperated in the past on law enforcement issues, and I expect they would continue ... to cooperate.”
Click to expand...

hawki · Jan 15, 2020

hawki said: ↑

So why is Barr blowing so much smoke at Apple ?? (Umm -- Using a high-profile/flag-waving case to push his pro-backdoor/anti-encryption agenda)
Click to expand...

Cellebrite -- a company that unlocks encrypted iPhones will unlock an iPhone 8, 7, or older for $5,000.

"Experts say iPhones are easy to unlock, so why is the FBI demanding Apple's help?..."

https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/fbi-pensacola-shooter-iphone-apple

hawki · Jan 15, 2020

"iPhone hacking firm updates tool amid Apple-FBI spat

DIGITAL forensics firm Cellebrite has released a new tool that could be used to access data on the iPhones at the heart of the latest spat between Apple and the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)...

The tool uses an exploit called Checkm8 that enables access to chips running on iPhones released between 2011 and 2017. Cellebrite, owned by Japan's Suncorporation, said its latest version of the tool works with the iPhone 5S, first sold in 2013, through the iPhone X, sold in 2017..."

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/iphone-hacking-firm-updates-tool-amid-apple-fbi-spat

guest · Jan 16, 2020

This Apple-FBI Fight Is Different From the Last One
In 2016, the iPhone encryption debate ended in a draw. Don't count on 2020's scuffle over the Pensacola shooter's devices to play out the same way.
January 16, 2020
https://www.wired.com/story/apple-fbi-iphone-encryption-pensacola/

The broad outlines are the same, but the details have shifted precariously.

For all the FBI's posturing, its attempt to force Apple to unlock the phone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists ultimately ended in a draw in 2016. The FBI dropped its lawsuit after the agency found a third-party firm to crack it for them.
Now, the FBI claims that only Apple can circumvent the encryption protections on the two recovered iPhones of Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who killed three people and wounded eight in December at a naval air station in Pensacola, Florida. As it did four years ago, Apple has declined.

Despite Barr's claims Monday that the phones are "virtually impossible to unlock without the password," and that Apple has "not given any substantive assistance," existing methods appear readily available to the FBI.

"As far as we know, law enforcement has a number of workable options for unlocking phones, particularly older phones like these," says Johns Hopkins cryptographer Matthew Green.
Click to expand...

"In both cases it seems clear that the Department of Justice is trying to identity the most politically advantageous case in which to press a longstanding desire, which is that companies reengineer their products to allow easy surveillance," says Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.
The backdrop against which law enforcement seeks that authority, though, has changed.

Regardless of whether it genuinely needs a tool to access the Pensacola shooter's iPhone, it clearly sees its best opportunity in years to get what it wants.
Click to expand...

zapjb · Jan 16, 2020

BINGO.

"In both cases it seems clear that the Department of Justice is trying to identity the most politically advantageous case in which to press a longstanding desire, which is that companies reengineer their products to allow easy surveillance," says Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.

Minimalist · Jan 18, 2020

It's never been easier for the FBI to hack into an iPhone

The FBI isn't happy with Apple – again. For the second time since 2016, officials have demanded the firm unlock iPhones belonging to an alleged high profile criminal. But unlike in the case of Syed Farook, law enforcement agencies have a few more tricks they can pull.
Click to expand...

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/fbi-iphone-hacking

Minimalist · Jan 18, 2020

Justice Department official sees 'fertile ground' for encryption legislation in wake of Pensacola shooting

A senior Justice Department official on Friday said he saw an increasing willingness on Capitol Hill to pass legislation requiring tech companies to make their encrypted devices accessible to law enforcement, saying "the ground is as fertile as ever" for such action.
Click to expand...

https://www.nationthailand.com/edandtech/30380743

guest · Jan 18, 2020

Civil liberties groups back Apple against FBI in Pensacola iPhones case
January 17, 2020
https://9to5mac.com/2020/01/17/civil-liberties-groups-back-apple/

Three different civil liberties groups are backing Apple in its refusal to create a weakened version of iOS to allow the FBI access to two iPhones used by the Pensacola shooter.
They support Apple’s position that compromising iPhone encryption would be a far greater risk to national security than not gaining access to the phones…

Business Insider obtained statements from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
• The ACLU said that it was simply too dangerous. [...] The EFF said compromising the privacy of millions was too high a price. [...] EPIC said it’s not just personal data at stake. [...]
Click to expand...

Stefan Froberg · Jan 19, 2020

Minimalist said: ↑

Justice Department official sees 'fertile ground' for encryption legislation in wake of Pensacola shooting

https://www.nationthailand.com/edandtech/30380743
Click to expand...

Fertile?
It's like the law makers in the land of the "free" are rubbing their little hands in glee that this tragedy happened
so that they can get what they want.
Pretty disgusting

hawki · Jan 21, 2020

"Apple Reportedly Dropped Plan to Allow Encrypted iPhone Backups Following FBI Complaint...

Apple is one of the few companies that invest a lot in protecting customer information. But according to a new report from Reuters, the company had dropped a plan to allow users to encrypt iPhone backups on iCloud following complaints from the FBI two years ago.

Apple was apparently working on a new system, codenamed Plesio and KeyDrop, which would allow users to encrypt their iPhone backups on the cloud, preventing FBI from accessing their personal information, even with a court order...

A former Apple employee told Reuters, “Legal killed it, for reasons you can imagine.” Apple apparently didn’t want public officials to attack the company for protecting criminals..."

hawki · Jan 21, 2020

"FBI Took Two Months to Crack Lev Parnas’s iPhone 11, U.S. Says

(Bloomberg) -- [The Dept. of Justice says] It took the Federal Bureau of Investigation about two months to unlock the Apple iPhone 11 that was seized from Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani....

Apple news websites reported last week that the FBI used Cellebrite software to unlock the iPhone..."

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/fbi-took-two-months-to-crack-lev-parnas-s-iphone-11-u-s-says-1.1377523

guest · Feb 5, 2020

FBI Pensacola investigation still hasn't accessed shooter's iPhone
February 5, 2020
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...tigation-still-hasnt-accessed-shooters-iphone

Appearing at a House Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday, FBI Director Wray confirmed the lack of success in gaining access to any of the encrypted data held on the reconstructed iPhone. The smartphone in question is important to the investigation, as it belonged to the shooter behind the Naval Air Station attack in Pensacola, Florida in December.

Answering queries from Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bloomberg reports Wray said the FBI is "currently engaged with Apple hoping to see if we can get better help from them so we can get access to that phone."
Click to expand...

Bloomberg: FBI Says It Still Can’t Access Data on Florida Shooter’s iPhone

Minimalist · Apr 30, 2020

The F.B.I.’s Director, a Critic of Strong Encryption, Once Defended It

Christopher Wray has said tough encryption offered by companies like Facebook and Apple blinds law enforcement. But his law firm defended it five years ago.
Click to expand...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/technology/christopher-wray-fbi-encryption.html

hawki · May 18, 2020

"FBI finds link between Pensacola gunman, al-Qaida...

The contacts between the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, and the al-Qaida operative were discovered on the shooter’s phone...

The Justice Department had previously asked Apple to help extract data from two iPhones that belonged to the gunman, including one that authorities say Alshamrani damaged with a bullet after being confronted by law enforcement. It was not immediately clear how the FBI and Justice Department were able to ultimately access the phone..."

https://apnews.com/934b704a5906e86452319a3bb174dc0c

hawki · May 18, 2020

hawki said: ↑

"FBI finds link between Pensacola gunman, al-Qaida...

The contacts between the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, and the al-Qaida operative were discovered on the shooter’s phone...

...It was not immediately clear how the FBI and Justice Department were able to ultimately access the phone..."

https://apnews.com/934b704a5906e86452319a3bb174dc0c
Click to expand...

"...The Federal Bureau of Investigation, bypassing Apple’s security features, was ultimately able to access information on at least one of two phones, the person said, and found that the gunman had communicated with the suspected al Qaeda operative..."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-discovers-al-qaeda-link-in-pensacola-attack-11589809330

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