The new year is just around the corner, and so it’s the right time to review our achievements in 2021. We’ve done plenty of researching, developing and updating, and posted a great deal of content in our blog. Let’s run through the most exciting developments of the year!

BestCrypt, developed by the Finnish company Jetico, is a cross-platform commercial disk encryption tool directly competing with BitLocker, FileVault 2 and VeraCrypt. Volume encryption is available for Windows and macOS. Learn how to break BestCrypt full-disk encryption by recovering the original password!

Last month we introduced forensically sound low-level extraction for a range of iPhone devices. Based on the renowned checkm8 exploit, our solution supported devices ranging from the iPhone 5s through 6s/6s Plus/SE. Today, we are extending the range of supported devices, adding checkm8 extraction of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

Before the end of this year, we are releasing one last update. Advanced Office Password Recovery can now break 40-bit encryption in Microsoft Office documents, and gains support for Thunder Tables. What are Thunder Tables exactly, and is 40-bit encryption still relevant? Read along to find out.

WhatsApp is the fastest growing instant messenger app. With over 2 billion monthly users, WhatsApp keeps the crown of the most popular instant messaging tool in the Western hemisphere. The recent introduction of end-to-end encrypted backups and the change of Google’s authentication protocol broke things temporarily for EXWA users, but now everything is back to normal. Learn how Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp can download and decrypt encrypted WhatsApp communication histories from Google Drive and Apple iCloud!

Installing the checkm8 exploit to perform forensically sound extractions with iOS Forensic Toolkit can be tricky, which is in part due to certain hardware peculiarities.  If you watch our blog, you might have already read the article on checkm8, checkra1n and USB hubs. We have some good news: we managed to fix some of the issues with or without the use of a USB hub.

Half a year ago, we started a closed beta-testing of a revolutionary new build of iOS Forensic Toolkit. Using the checkm8 exploit, the first beta delivered forensically sound file system extraction for a large number of Apple devices. Today, we are rolling out the new, significantly improved second beta of the tool that delivers repeatable, forensically sound extractions based on the checkm8 exploit.

The second beta of iOS Forensic Toolkit 8.0 has arrived, offering repeatable, verifiable extraction for a limited range of iOS devices. The new release introduces a brand-new user interface, which differs significantly from the selection-driven console we’ve been using for the past several years. This article describes the new workflow for performing forensically sound extractions with iOS Forensic Toolkit 8.0 beta2.

When accessing a locked system during an in-field investigation, speed is often the most important factor. However, maintaining digital chain of custody is just as if not more important in order to produce court admissible evidence. We are introducing new features in Elcomsoft System Recovery, our forensic triage tool, to help establish and maintain digital chain of custody throughout the investigation.

While we are still working on the new version of Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit featuring forensically sound and nearly 100% compatible checkm8 extraction, an intermediate update is available with two minor yet important improvements. The update makes it easier to install the tool on macOS computers, and introduces a new agent extraction option.