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How The FBI Might've Opened the San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone 5c (schneier.com)
"Remember the San Bernardino killer's iPhone, and how the FBI maintained that they couldn't get the encryption key without Apple providing them with a universal backdoor?" Slashdot reader LichtSpektren quotes Bruce Schneier:
Many of us computer-security experts said that they were wrong, and there were several possible techniques they could use. One of them was manually removing the flash chip from the phone, extracting the memory, and then running a brute-force attack without worrying about the phone deleting the key. The FBI said it was impossible. We all said they were wrong. Now, Sergei Skorobogatov has proved them wrong.
Sergei's new paper describes "a real world mirroring attack on the Apple iPhone 5c passcode retry counter under iOS 9." The process does not require any expensive and sophisticated equipment. All needed parts are low cost and were obtained from local electronics distributors. By using the described and successful hardware mirroring process it was possible to bypass the limit on passcode retry attempts... Although the process can be improved, it is still a successful proof-of-concept project.
Sergei's new paper describes "a real world mirroring attack on the Apple iPhone 5c passcode retry counter under iOS 9." The process does not require any expensive and sophisticated equipment. All needed parts are low cost and were obtained from local electronics distributors. By using the described and successful hardware mirroring process it was possible to bypass the limit on passcode retry attempts... Although the process can be improved, it is still a successful proof-of-concept project.
There are at least two interpretations for this apparent failure: (1) the Feds are dumb as a box of rocks as you say, or (2) they knew perfectly well how to do this but wanted the courts to establish precedence for ordering manufacturers like Apple to provide access to customers' encrypted storage. Or it could be a little of both. I've worked with the Federal government for over 40 years, and either of these is well within the realm of possibility. I will say, however, that the recent tenor from the FBI and its director about encryption make me believe more in #2 than #1.