iPhone 3Gs Encryption Cracked In Two Minutes

An anonymous reader writes "In a Wired news article, iPhone Forensics expert Jonathan Zdziarski explains how the much-touted hardware encryption of the iPhone 3Gs is but a farce, and demonstrates how both the passcode and backup encryption can be bypassed in about two minutes. Zdziarski also goes on to say that all data on the iPhone — including deleted data — is automatically decrypted by the iPhone when it's copied, allowing hackers and law enforcement agencies alike access the device's raw disk as if no encryption were present. A second demonstration features the recovery of the iPhone's entire disk while the device is still passcode-locked. According to a similar article in Ars Technica, Zdziarski describes the iPhone's hardware encryption by saying it's 'like putting privacy glass on half your shower door.' With the iPhone being sold into 20% of Fortune-100s and into the military, just how worried should we be with such shoddy security?"

Comments

The Real Question is...

[Nom du Keyboard]

The real question is whether or not you should be storing sensitive material on your iPhone in the first place?

If the answer is: What kind of idiot are you? Of course my iPhone is the center of my universe and the repository of everything that will ever matter to me right at my finger tips, then there's a huge opportunity just waiting for some programmer at the Apps Store who can code faster than I can to supply a cheap App that actually provides true security...

...provided that Apple and the government will let them.

Mod parent up

[Gnavpot]

For this:

Disk encryption, especially mobile and laptop, should be designed specifically to prevent data retrieval when physical possession is obtained by an attacker.