600

Cops Can Bypass iPhone’s Automatic Reboot to Get Into Locked Phones, Leaked Video Claims (www.404media.co)

submitted 3 days ago by tonytins@pawb.social to c/technology@lemmy.world

103 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A company that makes phone hacking devices claims to have developed a solution that freezes iPhones in a state that lets cops more easily access sensitive data inside them, according to a video obtained by 404 Media.

This is the latest salvo in the never-ending battle between Apple and companies that help cops — sometimes those in authoritarian countries — break into iPhones.

In November 2024, 404 Media revealed Apple quietly introduced a new feature in iOS that automatically reboots an iPhone that has not been unlocked for 72 hours. The idea behind this so-called “inactivity reboot” is to revert the phone to a state that makes it harder for police to break into the device, and thus extract sensitive data from it with forensics technology.

At the time of Apple’s change, law enforcement agents expressed concern about this new feature, given that oftentimes they can’t immediately try to break into iPhones that have been seized. That could be because police are still waiting for a court authorization to do so, or there is simply a backlog of devices to unlock, for example.

Archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/DuJxb

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[+] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world -3 points 3 days ago

[deleted]

[-] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 4 points 3 days ago

It's almost like there's only two ways to actually accomplish this type of thing. You can do the same basic thing but use different names to differentiate where/how that function is used.

Lock it and require the passcode where the decryption key is still in memory because the system is running, or shutdown/restart the device so the decryption key isn't in memory anymore.

What would a third option even look like?

[+] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world -6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

[removed by mod]

[-] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 6 points 3 days ago

Are you. Understanding a standard shut down does what you want?

What are you babbling about? Of course, that's why I already said it. Twice.

Both comments I have made in thi thread have mentioned shutting down or restarting the device to put it back into a BFU state.

Since you clearly didn't actually read the comments you are replying to... I'll include the relevant parts from both below:

You can also set it to restart the device if not used within a set time period. Various settings from 10 minutes to 72 hours. So if you haven’t touched your device within that time period, it will shutdown and restart, going back to the more secure BFU (Before First Unlock) state.

Lock it and require the passcode where the decryption key is still in memory because the system is running, or shutdown/restart the device so the decryption key isn’t in memory anymore.

You still didn't answer the question I posed though... before replying in way that seems to indicate you either can't, or refuse to actually read before responding condescendingly.

Since you seem to think there should be another choice instead of doing the same two things to protect the device/data... what would a third option look like? Other than locking and disabling biometrics, or a shutdown/restart putting the device back into BFU mode.

Or are you just stuck thinking a shutdown and reboot are technically different things? Even though that makes no difference here since they both put a device into BFU.

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2026

600 points (99.7% liked)

Technology

88627 readers

2925 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related news or articles.
Be excellent to each other!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

L3s@lemmy.world

enu@lemmy.world

technopagan@lemmy.world

L4s@lemmy.world

L3s@hackingne.ws