“But, Adams further claimed, he had forgotten the password he had just set, and thus was unable to provide the FBI with a password that would unlock the phone.”
You know, the same thing happens to me every time the FBI takes my phones.
“Adams claimed that after he learned about the investigation into his conduct, he changed the password,” and he “increased the complexity of his password from four digits to six,” the document reads. Adams said he did this to stop members of his staff “from inadvertently or intentionally deleting the contents of his phone because, according to Adams, he wished to preserve the contents of his phone due to the investigation.”
According to reporting, they have actually done this before.
Most of the discussion I’ve read about this is along the lines of: clone the drive on the phone and then brute force the clones (circumventing the lockout issue: if you get locked out just keep trying on a new clone).
Sure thing, bud.
6 digits is brute force hackable in about 1 second.
Also, isn’t lying to the FBI another crime?
Clone.
Repeat.
Also, cellebrite.
Edit: if people think forensics uses the actual device that would severely hinder any investigation.
That would risk tampering, or destroying evidence.
Copies are made.
Technology exists.
And the cloning can happen thousands of times in one second?
According to reporting, they have actually done this before.
Most of the discussion I’ve read about this is along the lines of: clone the drive on the phone and then brute force the clones (circumventing the lockout issue: if you get locked out just keep trying on a new clone).
In a relatively famous case, the FBI cracked the password on the San Bernardino shooter’s phone, but did not explain how they did it: https://www.vox.com/2016/3/29/11325134/apple-iphone-fbi-san-bernardino-case-ends
Here is a company selling a brute force module for iPhones, although they don’t explain how they get around the lockout issue: https://belkasoft.com/unlocking-ios-devices-with-brute-force
Here is another article about a company that claims to be able to brute force iPhone passcodes: https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-to-brute-force-iphones-graykey/
Wow… I could dream up more realistic excuses in middle school.