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New device enables police to unlock any iPhone

A clandestine startup with a former Apple engineer as co-founder has built a device that is guaranteed to unlock any iPhone in a matter of hours. Known as GrayKey, the device works by exploiting known weaknesses in the device’s design.

Grayshift, a company based in Atlanta, reportedly sells two different versions of the device. The first one costs $15,000, and it can unlock 300 iPhones but needs an internet connection. The second one costs $30,000, it will unlock an unlimited number of iPhones and it does not require an internet connection.

According to public records, Indiana State Police recently placed the first order for the $15,000 version.

Just before last weekend Malwarebytes, a security software firm based in Santa Clara, released pictures and screenshots of how GrayKey actually works.
Malwarebytes says the device features two Lightning cables, enabling law enforcement agencies to connect to two phones at the same time. GrayKey reportedly return’s the device’s security code within two hours and can then download its full database for scrutiny.



Early in 2016, Apple was taken to court by the FBI because it refused to unlock an iPhone that belonged to one of the suspected individuals in the San Bernardino shooting. The FBI later decided to drop the case, stating that it had located a firm that could unlock the phone for them.

According to some reports, the bureau used Cellebrite, a security company from Israel that claims it can unlock iPhones in one of its two secure labs. Where Grayshift’s model differs from that of Cellebrite is that it enables the police to unlock any iPhone without involving a third party.

David Miles, an experienced cyber-security engineer and former director of development and research at IBM’s Internet Security group, cofounded Grayshift two years ago. Braden Apple, who previously worked as an engineer at Apple, also works for the firm.

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Chris

I've been a passionate evangelist for Apple and the Macintosh throughout my working life, my first love was a Quadra 605 working with a small creative agency in the south of Norfolk UK in the mid 1990's, I later progressed to other roles in other Macintosh dominated industries, first as a Senior graphic designer at a small printing company and then a production manager at Guardian Media Group. As the publishing and printing sector wained I moved into Internet Marketing and in 2006 co-founded blurtit.com which grew to become one the top 200 visited sites in the US (according to Quantcast), at its peak receiving over 15 million visits per month. For the last ten years I have worked as an Affiliate and Consultant to many different business and start ups, my key skill set being online marketing, on page monetisation, landing page optimisation and traffic generation, if you would like to hire me or discuss your current project please reach out to me here.

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