Who Will Unlock Murder Victim's iPhones?

[HardOCP News]

Now that the FBI has successfully unlocked the iPhone used in the San Bernardino case, what will happen in situations like this? In this case, it's the victims family that is looking for help unlocking the phone. Apple has helped a little and the FBI says it is "committed to help" but nothing has been done so far. Who should be helping in situations like this?

The question of who shot Brittney Mills is wide open. And the answer could be locked up in an iPhone — her iPhone. Unlike in the San Bernardino case, this iPhone's owner is the victim, not the perpetrator. But like that case, investigators are not able to enter the phone. It's an iPhone 5s, running on the iOS 8 operating system, so the data inside are encrypted. And no one can get in without the password.

 

[SvenBent]

Should just call CSI: Cyber and Scorpion. They can do all that shit in 22min or less

 

[Armenius]

Did the FBI fuck this one up, too, by attempting to reset the password on the account? If not, then this can't be compared to the San Bernardino case. If so, then the results should be the same.

 

[Ur_Mom]

It's almost like a Dead Man's Switch. If they try too many times, it's wiped. While good in some situations, if your killer is the last person you contacted (via text or took a picture or whatever), then it probably isn't that great of an idea. But, who ever thinks they are going to get murdered? Unless you live in Chicago.

We need some Federal legislation on this and there should be a mandated way the FBI can gain access for times like this. If that murderer is out free, he'll do it again. If it saves just one life.... /s

 

[amddragonpc]

Are GPS records kept? Maybe the perp had a phone with its GPS on. If the GPS data is kept somewhere, maybe it can be determined who walked up to the front door of the house and shot the victim.

 

[lcpiper]

Are GPS records kept? Maybe the perp had a phone with its GPS on. If the GPS data is kept somewhere, maybe it can be determined who walked up to the front door of the house and shot the victim.

That would be quite a warrant now wouldn't it?

Smart phones are useful tools with great capabilities. They and the data on them can be very useful, and it can be damaging and abused. Making that data inviolate is a double edged sword. It can hurt you and it can help you and it all depends on the circumstances. I would think that the best situation is to protect that data but remain capable of retrieving it when it's needed. But that's just how I think it needs to be, others don't agree.

 

[otherweeb]

I'm afraid that an innocent (or un-accused) man gets to take his secrets to the grave. If Apple acknowledges they can do it they lend credence to the FBI asking for their help with lawful warranted searches. Federal Legislation?? Can you hear the screams 'my first amendment rights! Govt intrusion! Unnecessary legislation requiring tax funded support!'

 

[Dwango]

I'm curious as to why the answer for law enforcement always seems to be "it's on the phone!" Do they just assume the answer must be there because it's the one thing they can't access?

 

[tazeat]

If I get murdered, I hope my phone goes with me. Along with my desktop and other personal storage I have not left unencrypted for my heirs to access.

 

[Ur_Mom]

Are GPS records kept? Maybe the perp had a phone with its GPS on. If the GPS data is kept somewhere, maybe it can be determined who walked up to the front door of the house and shot the victim.

That'd be awesome to be the holder of that data. See where they go, who they talk to, what they talk about, texts, email, web searches, how long they are somewhere, even listen in through the phone mic when there is no call. WAY too much power for someone, but it'd be an amazing law enforcement tool.

There are a lot of things that could be the same. But, there is that trade off between security and privacy. If we gave Police the ability to search homes with no warrant, any time, for any reason, we'd be pretty safe. Random home inspections for weapons, drugs, other offensive material. It'd cut back on a lot of crime and protect a lot of people. A very tiny amount of people would give up all their privacy for that safety. I wouldn't.

 

[snowcrash]

I thought those for forcing Apple to unlock the phone say it's one time thing? So now everyone else wants to do it too? Who would have thought that!

 

[lcpiper]

I'm afraid that an innocent (or un-accused) man gets to take his secrets to the grave. If Apple acknowledges they can do it they lend credence to the FBI asking for their help with lawful warranted searches. Federal Legislation?? Can you hear the screams 'my first amendment rights! Govt intrusion! Unnecessary legislation requiring tax funded support!'

Apple already said they can do it and they laid out 4 different methods.

 

[MoFoQ]

It's almost like a Dead Man's Switch. If they try too many times, it's wiped.

Not quite true.
It doesn't wipe the main data, just the cached decryption sequence which if I recall can be regenerated when the right password is entered (this is to speed up access to the data but also allow for the device to be quickly secured if need be).
Also, iDevices that have Secure Enclave, the chip that tells the main system if the entered passcode is ok or not has it's own brute-force protections by design.
A single 100ms delay in human terms is negligible but if you are brute-forcing, it's a killer.

Hence the best method would be to remove the flash chip and do a binary dump which then can be processed offline (still would be a time-consuming endeavor to decrypt)

 

[evilsofa]

That'd be awesome to be the holder of that data. See where they go, who they talk to, what they talk about, texts, email, web searches, how long they are somewhere, even listen in through the phone mic when there is no call. WAY too much power for someone, but it'd be an amazing law enforcement tool.

There are a lot of things that could be the same. But, there is that trade off between security and privacy. If we gave Police the ability to search homes with no warrant, any time, for any reason, we'd be pretty safe. Random home inspections for weapons, drugs, other offensive material. It'd cut back on a lot of crime and protect a lot of people. A very tiny amount of people would give up all their privacy for that safety. I wouldn't.

"Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology—where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!"

 

[Ur_Mom]

"Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology—where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!"

Used to be fiction....

 

[Krenum]