Lockdown Mode is a sometimes overlooked feature of Apple devices that broadly make them harder to hack. A court record indicates the feature might be effective at stopping third parties unlocking someone's device. At least for now.

The FBI has been unable to access a Washington Post reporter’s seized iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode, a sometimes overlooked feature that makes iPhones broadly more secure, according to recently filed court records.

The court record shows what devices and data the FBI was able to ultimately access, and which devices it could not, after raiding the home of the reporter, Hannah Natanson, in January as part of an investigation into leaks of classified information. It also provides rare insight into the apparent effectiveness of Lockdown Mode, or at least how effective it might be before the FBI may try other techniques to access the device.

“Because the iPhone was in Lockdown mode, CART could not extract that device,” the court record reads, referring to the FBI’s Computer Analysis Response Team, a unit focused on performing forensic analyses of seized devices. The document is written by the government, and is opposing the return of Natanson’s devices.

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  • Zetta@mander.xyzEnglish
    7·
    2 hours ago

    As another said, a Pixel with Graphene OS is likely the most secure device you can have, even against an Apple product. Cellebrite, the software a lot of companies use to break into these phones can’t get into a Pixel device before first unlock with Graphene OS. I believe a number of Apple products are the same thing as they can’t be accessed before first unlock or lockdown mode, but your data is more secure in the hands of an open source developer than a massive capitalist company.

    Also, a notable feature of GrapheneOS is automatic reboots after no use for any arbitrary time value you want, so your phone will always be in a “before first unlock” state if some steals it like the government. They also have lockdown mode as well, not sure how that works technically on Android beyond disabling biometrics.