Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

Analyzing iPhone PINs

April 18th, 2023 by Oleg Afonin

In recent years, Apple had switched from 4-digit PINs to 6 digits, while implementing blacklists of insecure PIN codes. How do these measures affect security, how much more security do six-digit PINs deliver compared to four-digit PINs, and do blacklists actually work? Let’s try to find out.

The recent update to iOS Forensic Toolkit brought two automations based on the Raspberry Pi Pico board. One of the new automations makes it possible to make long, scrollable screen shots in a semi-automatic fashion. In this article we will show how to build, program, and use a Raspberry Pi Pico board to automate scrolling screenshots.

The latest update to iOS Forensic Toolkit brings two new features, both requiring the use of a Raspberry Pi Pico board. The first feature automates the switching of iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X devices into DFU, while the second feature adds the ability to make long, scrollable screen shots in a semi-automatic fashion. In this article we will show how to build, program, and use a Raspberry Pi Pico board to automate DFU mode.

Welcome to Part 4 of the Perfect Acquisition series! In case you missed the other parts (1, 2, and 3), please check them out for more background information, or dive straight in and learn how to perform Perfect HFS Acquisition yourself. This section contains a comprehensive guide on how to perform the Perfect HFS Acquisition procedure.

Welcome to Part 3 of the Perfect Acquisition series! If you haven’t read Part 1 and Part 2 yet, be sure to check them out before proceeding with this article. In this section, we will introduce our newly developed Perfect HFS Acquisition method, which enables the extraction of data from legacy iOS devices that do not have SEP and utilize the HFS file system.

In the previous articles we explained how to connect the first-generation HomePod to a computer, apply the exploit, extract a copy of the file system and decrypt the keychain. Since the HomePod cannot be protected with a passcode and does not allow installing apps, we were wondering what kinds of data the speaker may have and what kinds of passwords its keychain may store.

Obtaining information from a locked iPhone can be challenging, particularly when the device is passcode-protected. However, four critical pieces of information that can aid forensic analysis are the device’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), Mobile Equipment IDentifier (MEID), MAC address of the device’s Wi-Fi adapter, and its serial number. These unique identifiers can provide valuable insights into a device’s history, including its manufacture date, hardware specifications, and carrier information.

Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit 8.20 for Mac and 7.80 for Windows now includes a new mechanism for low-level access, which enables the extraction of certain parts of the file system from the latest Apple devices. This partial extraction raises questions regarding what data can and cannot be extracted and how missing information can be accessed. Learn about the partial file system extraction, its benefits and limitations.

Welcome to part 2 of the Perfect Acquisition series! In case you missed part 1, make sure to check it out before continuing with this article. In this section, we will dive deeper into iOS data protection and understand the obstacles we need to overcome in order to access the data, which in turn will help us accomplish a Perfect Acquisition when certain conditions are met.

The first-generation HomePod is a smart speaker developed by Apple that offers high-quality audio and a range of features, including Siri integration and smart home controls. However, as with any electronic device, it can store valuable information that may be of interest in forensic investigations. In this article, we will explore how to use the forensically sound checkm8 extraction to access data stored in the HomePod, including the keychain and file system image. We will also outline the specific tools and steps required to extract this information and provide a cheat sheet for those looking to extract data from a HomePod. By the end of this article, you’ll have have a better understanding of how to extract data from the first-generation HomePod and the potential limitations of this extraction method.