The FBI’s iPhone Cracking Tools Have Been Released To The Public

Last year thanks to the efforts by a company called Cellebrite, a set of cracking tools were developed for the FBI to help them break into an encrypted iPhone. This was after Apple had refused to help the FBI to break into the device, and also after they had refused to create a backdoor for the authorities.

There was concern at that time about how this would set a dangerous precedent, but it was something that was dismissed by the authorities. Unfortunately it looks like our fears have since been realized (almost) as a hacker has since released information related to the cracking tools that were originally developed for the FBI.

The code was obtained last month when Cellebrite’s legacy servers were hacked and the code to create the tools were allegedly stolen. According to the hacker who spoke to Motherboard anonymously, “It’s important to demonstrate that when you create these tools, they will make it out. History should make that clear.”

However according to Cellebrite, they claim that the files stolen did not include the source code but only the packaging information. The good news is that this means that the actual tool has not been released, but given this information and what the hacker said, we wouldn’t be surprised if one day it actually made its way online.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: fbi, Hack, iOS, iPhone, Security