I don't get the guarantee with a "social engineering" strategy. A) the user is dead so there's no conning him, with the ten try limit thats dancing in the edge.
It looks like everybody is missing something pretty incredible here. The government wants to essentially trash privacy forever on a one time fishing trip. This is just oo unbalanced to evev rate a discussion of "National Security" (what hogwash...) against personal privacy.
The government wants to expand their surveillance into iOS devices, which is unconstitutional and a threat to our right to privacy. Meanwhile, the real bad guys can and will simply use 3rd party encryption tools. And the government would still be in the dark about who they are contacting and what they are saying.
The readly bad guys will simply use coded phrases in plain language. "I'm thinking of ordering an extra large pizza next Thursday" let's see the FBI decrypt that.
I'd first make him prove he can break in to a DIFFERENT iPhone 5c locked in the same manner. Work out his methods on a TEST subject before operating on the real thing. Social Engineering? Hogwash in this instance.
PS: I am squarely on APPLE's side on this. I wish the FBI could stop terrorism as much as the next guy, but not at the expense of the long term importance what smartphones represent to society.
It looks like everybody is missing something pretty incredible here. The government wants to essentially trash privacy forever on a one time fishing trip. This is just oo unbalanced to evev rate a discussion of "National Security" (what hogwash...) against personal privacy.
It's worse than that. It's not like Apple has this insecure version of iOS just lying around. The government is essentially trying to force a business to engineer a product that it deems necessary. Apple will need to pay engineers to rework and test the software, however they approach the task. So now a business must write code the government demands? The overreach is shocking.
If McAfee was so smart they would already have an app today, not in three weeks. I think he will be eating his shoe. On the other hand, all the jihadis now believe they are "safe" so if this is just a big ruse, well done!
All the FBI needs to do in order to get the data off the internal "Hynix H2JTDG2MBR 128 Gb (16 GB) NAND flash" is to take apart the terrorist used iphone that was passcode protected. Remove the flash memory from the logic board then take another iphone 5c with no passcode and swap out the flash memory by re- soldering it to the new iphone's logic board that does not have a passcode. Put it back together and access the data with no need for a passcode. Or use this article on how to read bare nand flash chips with a microprocessor
... He believes they will be able to unlock the iPhone "primarily" with social engineering. ...
So the Stoned Mohawk Guy (not his real name) is really good at guessing passwords?
John McAfee thinks he's got social friends in high places... We's talking Pope-level high. He's planning on calling up Heaven and talking to the terrorist himself and tricking him out of his password. I want some of what he's smoking!
The FBI will not accept his gracious offer because that is not part of 'their plan'. They want a precedent to be set so that they can gain access to encrypted data whenever they want.
Absolutely Correct! How dare anyone defy the FBI, oh, sorry Obama.
Let's leave Obama out of this. He has been as active as Google and Microsoft. Just there enough to show that he is/was "engaged"...
Calling it a "black day and the beginning of the end of the U.S. as a world power," software developer John McAfee criticized the FBI on Thursday for attempting to force Apple to build a backdoor to access data from a terrorist's iPhone, saying that he will decrypt the handset himself for free.
McAfee, an eccentric millionaire who is currently running for U.S. president on behalf of the Libertarian Party, believes that he and his team could hack into the iPhone in question without the need for a new, insecure version of iOS to be built by Apple. He shared his thoughts in an editorial published by Tech Insider. "I would eat my shoe on the Neil Cavuto show if we could not break the encryption on the San Bernardino phone. This is a pure and simple fact." - John McAfee
The former antivirus creator believes his team would be able to decrypt the information from the iPhone 5c at the center of the case within three weeks. He believes they will be able to unlock the iPhone "primarily" with social engineering.
McAfee argued that allowing him to unlock the iPhone free of charge will negate the need for Apple to go down a dangerous path, building a backdoor into iOS to allow access to investigators.
"If the government succeeds in getting this back door, it will eventually get a back door into all encryption, and our world, as we know it, is over," he wrote. "In spite of the FBI's claim that it would protect the back door, we all know that's impossible. There are bad apples everywhere, and there only needs to be in the US government."
McAfee's confidence that his team could crack the iPhone is based on the fact that he does not believe the FBI would hire the type of people he works with. Specifically, he described "prodigies" who sport mohawk haircuts, ear piercings, tattooed faces, and one person "who demands to smoke weed while working and won't work for less than a half-million dollars a year."
"I would eat my shoe on the Neil Cavuto show if we could not break the encryption on the San Bernardino phone," McAfee wrote. "This is a pure and simple fact."
On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered Apple to comply with FBI requests for assistance in unlocking an encrypted iPhone 5c used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Ryzwan Farook. Law enforcement technicians are looking to facilitate a brute force attack, but need specialized software capable of bypassing iOS 9's passcode counter.
Apple CEO Tim Cook took immediate action, vowing to fight government calls for privileged hardware access in a letter posted to his company's website just hours after the order came down. For Cook, the issue has implications far beyond a single iPhone, an argument floated by the White House on Wednesday.
I say let the guy try. Let the FBI keep custody of the phone and agree not to harass the Mohawk sporting, weed smoking hackers that Mr McAfee brings in. Give him a month, pay him if he produces, (hire the hackers, give them a raise and immunity on the smoke), show him the door if not.
The FBI has probably already cracked the iOS security protocols without any help from McAfee or Apple. I'll bet this is all a big stunt on the FBI's part, and it is intended to send the message to terrorists that as long as they encrypt their iPhones then the US Government can't see their data while in reality the FBI, CIA, and NSA are listening to all the terrorist "chatter" as we speak.
All the FBI needs to do in order to get the data off the internal "Hynix H2JTDG2MBR 128 Gb (16 GB) NAND flash" is to take apart the terrorist used iphone that was passcode protected. Remove the flash memory from the logic board then take another iphone 5c with no passcode and swap out the flash memory by re- soldering it to the new iphone's logic board that does not have a passcode. Put it back together and access the data with no need for a passcode. Or use this article on how to read bare nand flash chips with a microprocessor
As I understand it, for phones with Touch ID, Flash data is encrypted and decrypted by the secure enclave. So, moving the Flash device to another phone does you no good. The secure enclave in the new phone won't have the correct key.
If it's a 4-digit PIN, the most likely code is one used with as another PIN, like for his ATM/Debit card, or even some access at his job. These are much more easily sourced, which is why you should use a password manager and make all passcodes unique. Frankly, anyone with Touch ID that is still using a PIN over a complex passcode probably isn't taking security too serious anyway.
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Their IT Tech guys are not too bright...
Thank you. Excellent comment.