Graykey, the forensic tool used by authorities to unlock iPhones securely, faces limitations with iOS 18.
Recently, the site 404 Media obtained documents revealing Graykey's access restrictions on iOS 18 and iOS 18.0.1. The company behind Graykey, Magnet Forensics, keeps detailed information about the tool secret, making it hard to know which devices Graykey can unlock.
Most iPhones running iOS 18 or iOS 18.0.1 are listed as eligible for "partial unlock", but iPhone 11 models appear to be fully unlockable. The document includes no data on iOS 18.1, a more recent version of the operating system, but the iOS 18.1 betas were listed as inaccessible.
It is not clear what "partial access" means or what data can be retrieved from iPhones with that type of access. On more vulnerable devices, Graykey can unlock an iPhone with a 4-digit passcode in minutes, while longer passcodes can take hours.
Graykey exploits vulnerabilities in iPhones to unlock the devices, and its capabilities can change as Apple fixes security flaws. In 2018, Apple disabled Graykey with an update to iOS 12, but new vulnerabilities were found, restoring its functionality. Eventually, Magnet Forensics may find a flaw that allows Graykey to unlock devices running iOS 18.
Recently, a leak from Israeli mobile forensics company Cellebrite suggested that its tools were unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, but they can now access devices with iOS 17.5.1.
This story "Graykey tool used by authorities can only partially unlock devices with iOS 18" was originally published on MacRumors.com.
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Source: Juli Clover
-https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/19/graykey-ios-18-partial-unlock/
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