Cops Told 'Don't Look' at New iPhones To Avoid Face ID Lock-Out (vice.com)

As Apple continues to update its iPhones with new security features, law enforcement and other investigators are constantly playing catch-up, trying to find the best way to circumvent the protections or to grab evidence. From a report: Last month, Forbes reported the first known instance of a search warrant being used to unlock a suspect's iPhone X with their own face, leveraging the iPhone X's Face ID feature. But Face ID can of course also work against law enforcement -- too many failed attempts with the 'wrong' face can force the iPhone to request a potentially harder to obtain passcode instead. Taking advantage of legal differences in how passcodes are protected, US law enforcement have forced people to unlock their devices with not just their face but their fingerprints too. But still, in a set of presentation slides obtained by Motherboard this week, one company specialising in mobile forensics is telling investigators not to even look at phones with Face ID, because they might accidentally trigger this mechanism.

"iPhone X: don't look at the screen, or else... The same thing will occur as happened on Apple's event," the slide, from forensics company Elcomsoft, reads. Motherboard obtained the presentation from a non-Elcomsoft source, and the company subsequently confirmed its veracity. The slide is referring to Apple's 2017 presentation of Face ID, in which Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, tried, and failed, to unlock an iPhone X with his own face. The phone then asked for a passcode instead. "This is quite simple. Passcode is required after five unsuccessful attempts to match a face," Vladimir Katalov, CEO of Elcomsoft, told Motherboard in an online chat, pointing to Apple's own documentation on Face ID. "So by looking into suspect's phone, [the] investigator immediately lose one of [the] attempts."

Comments

Idiot cops go fishing in a dry well - a dumb phone

[Seven Spirals]

I got busted for speeding last year but it was pretty egregious. I peeled out at a light and was going 73 in a 40 MPH zone. The cop who pulled me over was an ass, though, and wrote the ticket for 80. That way it's 40 over the limit and the fines and penalties go way up. So, I asked the cop to see the radar. He flatly refused. I told him I think that's because he didn't have radar and that he was just mad because I had a nice car and I broke traction at the light and he took it as a personal challenge to his authority. To that he blew up, had me exit the car, and searched my shit without my consent/signature, by the way, since I flatly refused consent. So, I'm sitting in the back of his car and he finds my cell phone. The fucker immediately brings it to me to unlock. I was like "Sure, no problem." My phone is a Philips E570 and it doesn't even have a TCP/IP stack (battery lasts 5-6 months, though - yes *months*). My call history was disabled, my texts (which I get few of) were cleared, and there was four fifths of five eighths of FUCK ALL for him to see. So, he gets pissed at that "What kind of shitty phone do you use man?" to which I replied "One that cops can't rape for info, it would seem, officer." So, he then wrote this huge angry, lying, bullshit rant on the ticket for the judge to read. So, I was looking at a fat ticket that could have revoked my license and even possibly jail time. I was pissed because he claimed he found my speed by "pacing" even though it took him forever to catch me nearly a quarter mile behind (he had to escape from behind a bunch of cars, I was in the front rank). There is no way he could have paced me, realistically - he just wanted to write that magical "40MPH Over" on the ticket to try to take my license or fuck me into the stony lonesome jailhouse. So, after a couple of months we go to court. I absolutely refused to go along with any of the charges and kept telling them "let's do a jury trial." Finally, the judge asks me "Why do you want a trial? That costs a lot of time and money and would cost you far more if you lost." I told the judge "Because the officer is lying and I can't stand it. It's also because I don't believe you can find seven people in this town who would agree with the cops that fleece us all day." The judge was pretty angry at that and gave me a lecture about how wonderful the pigs are and what great civil servants they are. So, I shrugged that off, too and said "Then let's do a trial." My lawyer kept having to interrupt and say things like "... uhm.. I mean.. that is... if we can't come to another agreement or set of charges." I had all kinds of photos of the area where I peeled out. Documentation showing my car was rear wheel drive and there was a 15% grade causing it to easily break traction taking off. The jury would have told the DA to fuck herself, I'm pretty sure and the bitch knew it. So, in the end after all the bullshit lectures and down-talking to me, you know what they got me on (because I agreed) ? Failure to use turn signal. I piddly $35 ticket and a 2 point violation only (wrist slap). The judge was FURIOUS and told me I'd better hope I don't have any more cases come up with him. Then as I paid my $35 at the fine window and the officer was walking off I started singing Dead Kennedy's "I Fought the Law and I WON." and giggling like a 10 year old girl. He looked like he wanted to fucking shoot me in the face. I can't think of too many more satisfying situations. It fucking rocked. I still peel out at that light to this day. Fuck the police.