NSA Couldn't Hack San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone; Now Working On Exploiting IoT (theintercept.com)

The FBI did turn to NSA when it was trying to hack into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, according to an NSA official. But to many's surprise, one of the world's most powerful intelligence agencies couldn't hack into that particular iPhone 5c model. "We don't do every phone, every variation of phone," said Richard Ledgett, the NSA's deputy director. "If we don't have a bad guy who's using it, we don't do that." According to Ledgett, apparently the agency has to prioritize its resources and thus it doesn't know how to get into every popular gadget. According to the report, the agency is now looking to exploit Internet of Things, including biomedical devices. The Intercept reports: Biomedical devices could be a new source of information for the NSA's data hoards -- "maybe a niche kind of thing ... a tool in the toolbox," he said, though he added that there are easier ways to keep track of overseas terrorists and foreign intelligence agents. When asked if the entire scope of the Internet of Things -- billions of interconnected devices -- would be "a security nightmare or a signals intelligence bonanza," he replied, "Both."

Comments

IoT is the new mesh. We should exploit it too

[fustakrakich]

Urbanites won't need an ISP once everything connects to each other. It shouldn't be too difficult to spy on the NSA while they're spying on us. Surf's up. Catch the wave.

You're not thinking like an intelligence agency

[Solandri]

The San Bernardino iPhone was too high-profile a case. If the NSA had cracked it for the FBI, then everyone would've known they could crack the iPhone's encryption. Apple would've immediately set about changing it, people with stuff to hide from the NSA would've immediately started adding an additional layer(s) of encryption on top, sources of intel the NSA was getting fro iPhones would've dried up. If the NSA could crack it, the last thing they would do is reveal they could. If you reveal it, that's the last time you get to use it. If you keep it secret, you get to use it over and over again.

So the "fact" that the NSA couldn't crack it for the FBI doesn't really tell us anything - that would've been their story whether or not they could crack it. Heck, for all we know, the NSA did crack it, and this whole story about the FBI paying some random hacker is a charade to cover it up.