14 DAY TRIAL // While Apple’s waiting for more information on how exactly the FBI managed to break into the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone, more information emerges through unofficial channels, this time bringing to light new details about who actually performed the hack.
It was originally believed that the FBI worked together with Israeli tech firm Cellebrite to unlock the iPhone and to prevent the data from being erased. However, according to a report coming from the Post and citing people with knowledge of the matter, the bureau actually collaborated with a group of hackers.
It appears that a group of hackers contacted the FBI and proposed a different unlocking method that would involve hardware specifically built to break into the device, as well as software used to prevent the phone from wiping stored data after 10 unsuccessful password entry attempts. It was all possible with an undisclosed vulnerability that the hackers were aware of in iOS 9 and that Apple doesn’t seem to know at this point.
“Government-friendly” hackers
The FBI agreed to pay the hackers to unlock the device, but the exact amount of money is not yet known. It appears that the hackers, however, are part of a group that “hunts for vulnerabilities in software and sends them to the government,” so it wasn’t the first time they worked with the FBI.
The custom-built hardware to unlock the San Bernardino iPhone could be the reason the FBI cannot break into other devices.
But on the other hand, the agency might still have the software needed to disable the automatic wipe in case of 10 consecutive failed password entry attempts, so with such code, the FBI can proceed with its own brute force attacks should it want to hack another iPhone.
The worst thing for Apple (and consequently for iPhone users) is that the company has no clue about the vulnerability that the hackers used to break into the device. That means that it has no other option than to wait and hope that, at some point in the near future, it will leak and thus make it possible for its engineers to develop a patch.