Company Offers Tool To Break iPhone Encryption

ElcomSoft, a Russian security firm, claims that a new encryption cracking tool can decode data encrypted on mobile devices running Apple's iOS operating system.

Elcomsoft says it has developed the first ever commercially available password and encryption cracking tool. The company has made a phone password breaker public and says the complete toolkit, with the decryption tool included, will be marketed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The Elcomsoft toolkit will give its users the ability to decrypt encrypted file system images on an iOS device. Use of the tool requires physical possession of the device according to a report from Ars Technica. Once the password has been broken and device has been accessed, a user can extract numbers which are used for generating encryption keys and rendering decrypted images.

The method deployed by Elcomsoft is similar to one described in a research paper released in February, according to security expert Charlie Miller. The solution? Miller says individuals worried about having their mobile device broken into should use long complicated passwords, rather 4-digit codes which are easily broken.

For a more detailed account, read this blog post by ElcomSoft's CEO Vladimir Katalov.

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