A while ago, we introduced an innovative mechanism that enabled access to parts of the file system for latest-generation Apple devices. The process we called “partial extraction” relied on a weak exploit that, at the time, did not allow a full sandbox escape. We’ve been working to improve the process, slowly lifting the “partial” tag from iOS 15 devices. Today, we are introducing a new, enhanced low-level extraction mechanism that enables full file system extraction for the iOS 16 through 16.3.1 on all devices based on Apple A12 Bionic and newer chips.

We are excited to announce the release of an open-source software for Raspberry Pi 4 designed to provide firewall functionality for sideloading, signing, and verifying the extraction agent that delivers robust file system imaging and keychain decryption on a wide range of Apple devices. This development aims to address the growing security challenge faced by forensic experts when sideloading the extraction agent using regular and developer Apple accounts.

In the digital age, where information is a precious commodity and evidence is increasingly stored in virtual realms, the importance of preserving digital evidence has become a must in modern investigative practices. However, the criticality of proper handling is often overlooked, potentially jeopardizing access to crucial data during an investigation. In this article, we will once again highlight the importance of meticulous preservation techniques and live session analysis to prevent the loss of digital evidence.

Year after year, the field of digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) presents us with new challenges. Various vendors from around the world are tirelessly striving to simplify and enhance the work of experts in this field, but there are some things you probably do not know about (or simply never paid attention to) that we discussed in the first part of these series. Today we’ll discuss some real cases to shed light onto some vendors’ shady practices.

The market of digital forensic tools is a tight one, just like any other niche market. The number of vendors is limited, especially when catering such specific needs as unlocking suspects’ handheld devices or breaking encryption. However, amidst the promises of cutting-edge technology and groundbreaking solutions, there are certain limitations that forensic vendors often don’t like to disclose to their customers. These limitations can have a significant impact on the applicability, effectiveness and reliability of the tools being offered.

In the realm of password recovery, benchmarking the speed of attacks holds significant importance. It is a customary practice to gauge the speed of attacks on various data formats using diverse hardware configurations. These tests yield results that are visually represented through graphs clearly demonstrating the performance of our products. However, these graphical representations merely scratch the surface of a much broader scope. Today, we delve deeper into the objectives and methodologies behind our password cracking speed tests.

Synology DSM 7.2 introduced a highly anticipated feature: volume-level encryption. This data protection mechanism works faster and has less limitations than shared folder encryption, which was the only encryption option supported in prior DSM releases. However, upon investigation, we determined that the implementation of the encryption key management mechanism for full-volume encryption fails to meet the expected standards of security for encrypted data for many users.