Apple might not be a perfect company but there’s one thing you can’t really deny: it takes security and data privacy proper seriously (especially compared to other big tech companies).
Its latest iOS 12 update came with a whole host of super handy security features, including two-factor authentication, stronger device passwords and encrypted group video chat.
And now, according to hacking pros, Apple’s iPhones are pretty much impossible to hack – even by police.
According to Forbes, Apple has managed to prevent the leading iPhone hacking company in the world from breaking into their phones.
In March it was revealed that Atlanta-based Grayshift had promised governments that its GrayKey tech could crack the passcodes of the latest iOS models, right up to the iPhone X.
Grayshift reportedly worked with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service and some UK police forces.
But now multiple sources tell Forbes the device can no longer break the passcodes of any iPhone running iOS 12 or above.
On those devices, GrayKey can only do what’s called a “partial extraction,” sources from the forensic community said. That means police using the tool can only draw out unencrypted files and some metadata.
There’s definitely an ethical debate to be had here between the right to privacy and the need for police to investigate crime and nasty stuff like terrorism.
But Apple seems to have planted its flag firmly on the side of consumer privacy.
“Everyone has a right to the security of their data,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Twitter this week. “Security is at the heart of all data privacy and privacy rights.”
(Image: Getty)
