Cellebrite Gives Law Enforcement the Ability to Unlock Any iPhone

Israeli forensic technology company Cellebrite has informed its clients about a new capability: the ability to unlock any device running iOS 11. This includes the iPhone X, which was reportedly unlocked in November 2017 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, likely using Cellebrite’s technology.

Cellebrite, whose clients include the U.S. government, has not made any public statements about this new capability. However, Forbes journalists learned from anonymous sources that, in recent months, Cellebrite developed a previously unknown method to unlock iOS 11 devices. The company is now offering this service to law enforcement agencies and private forensic experts worldwide.

The new service has also been added to Cellebrite’s product catalog. According to the catalog, Cellebrite can bypass the security mechanisms of “Apple iOS devices and operating systems, including iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, iPad Pro, and iPod touch, running iOS 5 through iOS 11.”

One Forbes source in law enforcement said Cellebrite experts told him they could unlock the iPhone 8. If the company can bypass the security of the iPhone 8, it is almost certain they can unlock the iPhone X as well, since their security mechanisms are nearly identical.