Azimuth Security Helped the FBI Crack San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone

takyon writes:

Here's how the FBI managed to get into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone

The FBI partnered with an Australian security firm called Azimuth Security to gain access to an iPhone linked to the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, a new report from The Washington Post reveals. Before now, the methods the FBI used to get into the iPhone were kept secret. It was only clear that Apple wasn't involved, as the company had refused to build a backdoor into the phone, kicking off a legal battle that only ended after the FBI successfully hacked the phone.

[...] After the FBI announced that it had gained access to the phone, there were concerns that Apple's security could have been deeply compromised. But according to The Washington Post, the exploit was simple: Azimuth basically found a way to guess the passcode as many times as it wanted without erasing the phone, allowing the bureau to get into the phone in a matter of hours.

Azimuth Security was sold to U.S.-based defense contractor L3 Technologies Inc. in 2018 (now L3Harris Technologies).

Azimuth Security was mentioned in this 2017 SN article: Hacker Decrypts Apple's Secure Enclave Processor (SEP) Firmware

Also at 9to5Mac and Vice.

Previously: Washington Post: The FBI Paid "Gray Hat(s)", Not Cellebrite, for iPhone Unlock
FBI Can't Say How It Hacked IPhone 5C
Senator Dianne Feinstein Claims That the FBI Paid $900,000 to Break Into a Locked iPhone
Federal Court Rules That the FBI Does Not Have to Disclose Name of iPhone Hacking Vendor

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