- cross-posted to:
- privacy@programming.dev
- cross-posted to:
- privacy@programming.dev
The FBI has been unable to access a Washington Post reporter’s seized iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode, a sometimes overlooked feature that makes iPhones broadly more secure, according to recently filed court records.
The court record shows what devices and data the FBI was able to ultimately access, and which devices it could not, after raiding the home of the reporter, Hannah Natanson, in January as part of an investigation into leaks of classified information. It also provides rare insight into the apparent effectiveness of Lockdown Mode, or at least how effective it might be before the FBI may try other techniques to access the device.
“Because the iPhone was in Lockdown mode, CART could not extract that device,” the court record reads, referring to the FBI’s Computer Analysis Response Team, a unit focused on performing forensic analyses of seized devices. The document is written by the government, and is opposing the return of Natanson’s devices.
Archive: http://archive.today/gfTg9
Best advertisement I’ve heard for an iPhone ever. Now that Android moving to the same walled garden business model…
Graphene OS
Android phones have lockdown mode too. Hold the power button to show the shutdown menu and click lockdown.
They’re not the same. Android lockdown is a temporary lock screen state. iOS lockdown is a full OS hardening, affects the way the phone operates full-time.
Ah, my bad. I looked it up and while Android does have an analog to what iOS calls “lockdown”, Android uses different terminology for it, since “Lockdown” is, as you said, lock the lockscreen to be password/pin-only (which would still be a reasonable approach before being forced to turn over your phone to somebody since those are things that are harder to be compelled to provide).
Android’s version of iOS “Lockdown” is called “Advanced Protection Mode”.
Having it and it working as well are two different things. historically Apple has been ahead in security that can slow down or stop law enforcement. And before before you jump to the same conclusions as someone else, I never have owned an iPhone, nor wanted to.
That’s incorrect. Google’s Android has several industry leading security features the iPhone doesn’t support.
That’s… not what they said.
There’s a lot of copium in this thread. Joke is I’ve been pretty hardcore Android since day one, I have never owned an iPhone. I am just capable of some level of objectivity. Shit, there’s podcasts out there from early in the Android v iOS days where I was the token Android guy defending it as the IBM compatible equivalent of its day. Telling these hard core iPhone guys that Apple would lose the market share fight worldwide because of the closed nature, the same way they lost it on the desktop. But yeah, there’s people here denouncing me as an Apple fanboy because I was capable of complimenting a strength it has.
Keep doing it. They all have strengths and suckiness at the same time.
joke on you! google’s recent requirement is that all phone vendors make the power button open an AI menu instead of the shutdown menu! on most phones it can be fixed, but it’s often hidden very deep in the settings.
I’d forgotten because the first thing I did when that rolled out was revert it so long-press on the power button was the power menu. IIRC the new default is like long-press-power-and-volume-down or some garbage like that to show the power menu.
AI will take as to the future shit 🤣 You: Hey Google (or the hell the new assistant names are), I’m beening arrested could you lock donw my phone!" The bot: Sorry, I couldn’t get that. connecting to the ChatGPT/ Gemini servers
This is more of “disable face ID” type of thing rather than “lockdown”
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That is a misnomer. The android’s “lockdown” is equivalent of on an iPhone pressing power button + up button to bring up the power menu which immediately disables biometrics. It only disables biometrics, doesn’t really “hardens” the phone in anyway.
And the FBI can’t get in? I doubt that. It has always been notoriously easy for law enforcement to get in to Android phones.
Obligatory XKCD.
Everyone have different thread model…
It’s usually either posix or windows… is
pthreadposix? They confuse me when i’m outta coffee.If someone is worried about the FBI I don’t think that putting trust in a US company who’s CEO has very close ties to the current US administration is a wise idea.
I’d be seeking hardware to run an OS like GrapheneOS. Going with iOS in the US seems as wise as someone in China going with Xiaomi if they are trying to go under the radar of China’s Ministry of State Security.
So the hardware made by the other company who’s CEO has very close ties to the current US administration.
Graphene looks promising but restricting it to Pixels kinda kills it for me.
Hardware is hardware. Whether it is US, China, etc the most vital component ends up being the OS at the end. It is the OS that you are entrusting the programs and apps being run and the accounts being logged into.
If you want security and privacy, grapheneOS appears to be the best option for OS. Something can be secure but not private, and private but not secure. Example being running /e/os or lineageOS on supported hardware might be more private but might not be as secure as stock Google on a Pixel or iOS with lot of times inability to relock the bootloader.
Phones do not have the luxury of PCs with large range of supported hardware with lot of freedom to install different operating systems without issue. There isn’t a luxury of the perfect private and secure phone to purchase.
You look among what is available to find what lets you install a non corporate run OS that is as secure as possible.
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Haha, very true. Loyalty over competency.
Even if you turned the phone off? It should be secure on a cold boot before entering the password, as nothing is unencrypted yet.
You know, I have not kept up. Things may have improved recently. But historically there’s always been flaws in the security.
And that is the big reason why you should update. It’s a cat and mouse situation. This is the reason why GrapheneOS offer security previews and encourage you to install them.
GrapheneOS is not the ordinary Android phone.
Yes, that’s advertising allright.