Leaked Cellebrite documents reveal the company's smartphone hacking capabilities. The latest iPhones and some Android devices remain invulnerable, while older models are easily hackable.
Smartphone Hacking Secrets
Cellebrite Data Leak
Confidential documents from the Israeli security company Cellebrite have appeared on the Internet. The firm develops software that law enforcement agencies use to hack iPhones and Android devices. The leak reveals information about which smartphone models the company is able to unlock and which remain inaccessible to their technology.
Limitations of Cellebrite technology
Cellebrite, whose tools were used by the FBI to hack the Trump attacker's phone, has not yet been is able to overcome the protection of iPhone with iOS 17.4 and all iPhone 15 models, regardless of the operating system version. At the same time, earlier iPhone 12 and older models, as well as most Android devices, can be hacked without much difficulty.
Leak Contents
The leaked documents are titled "Cellebrite Support Matrix for iOS" and "Cellebrite Support Matrix for Android". This information is usually provided to the company's clients, but is not published publicly. An anonymous source claims to have received this data from one of Cellebrite's clients.
iOS Jailbreaking Features
iPhones running iOS 17.4 and later are listed as "Under Study" in Cellebrite documents. , which means there is no guarantee of successful hacking. For previous versions of iOS 17 (from 17.1 to 17.3.1), the company claims support for the iPhone XR and iPhone 11. The Supersonic BF (brute force) feature was recently added, promising quick results for these models.
Restrictions for new devices
Support for iPhone 12 and newer models with the latest operating systems is expected in the near future. At the moment, Cellebrite is only able to unlock iPhones with the penultimate version of iOS, released about five years ago.
Situation with Android devices
On Android, Cellebrite cannot access user data on disabled Google Pixel 6, 7 or 8. However, the company is capable of hacking most other Android devices. At the time of the document leak, the newest version of Android was Android 14, released in October 2023. It is worth noting that Pixel 6 hit the market in 2021.
Cellebrite Reaction
Cellebrite has confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents. Victor Ryan Cooper, senior director of corporate communications and content, said the documents are intended to help customers understand Cellebrite's technological capabilities when conducting legitimate investigations. The company does not publicly publish information about updates so that attackers cannot use this data for criminal purposes.
Conflicting Claims
Cellebrite Premium's promotional materials claim that their program can access "almost all modern mobile devices" devices, including the latest versions of iOS and Android." However, leaked documents cast doubt on the veracity of this statement, demonstrating the limitations of the company's capabilities.
Glossary
- Cellebrite is an Israeli company specializing in the development of software for hacking smartphones
- FBI - US Federal Bureau of Investigation
- iOS - operating system for Apple mobile devices
- Android - operating system for smartphones and tablets from Google
- Google Pixel - line of smartphones developed by Google
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Answers to questions
What devices Apple can't be hacked by Cellebrite tools?
Which Android smartphones can't Cellebrite unlock?
Which iPhones and iOS versions can be hacked with Cellebrite tools?
How did Cellebrite react to the leaked internal documents?
How true is Cellebrite's advertising claim about the capabilities of their product?
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Discussion of the topic – iPhone vs Android: Secret Cellebrite Documents Reveal the Truth About Smartphone Security
Leaked internal Cellebrite documents shed light on the ability to hack iPhone and Android devices used by intelligence agencies. The article analyzes which smartphones are most vulnerable and what this means for users.
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