14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has released iOS 11.4.1 update, and in addition to bug fixes and performance improvements, the new version also includes the already-famous USB Restricted Mode.
Announced earlier this year when beta builds were released for download, this feature is specifically supposed to block police hacking tools that whose role is to get around the iPhone locking system and extract data from the device even when a passcode is used.
Cracking solutions like GrayKey use the Lightning port to connect to the iPhone and launch brute-force attacks, and what USB Restricted Mode does is to block these connections when the device hasn’t been unlocked for more than an hour.
The feature comes enabled by default, and users need to manually allow USB accessories “to connect when it has been than an hour since your iPhone was locked.” Additionally, users can configure the iPhone to automatically wipe the data after 10 failed passcode attempts.
Feature still vulnerable?
In a statement released earlier this year, Apple explained that it’s not trying to make it harder for the police to break into password-protected iPhones, but to secure the data of its customers.
“We’re constantly strengthening the security protections in every Apple product to help customers defend against hackers, identity thieves, and intrusions into their personal data. We have the greatest respect for law enforcement, and we don’t design our security improvements to frustrate their efforts to do their jobs,” the company explained.
But despite USB Restricted Mode, it’s believed that devices like GrayKey can still unlock iPhones and extract stored data just as easy as before.
GrayKey is becoming increasingly popular among law enforcement and authorities in the United States, especially amid FBI claims that thousands of iPhones involved in criminal activities can’t be unlocked due to passcode protection. At this point, however, it’s not known precisely how many of these iPhones have been unlocked with brute force attacks.