Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit can perform full file system acquisition and decrypt the keychain from non-jailbroken iPhone and iPad devices. The caveat: the device must be running iOS 11 or 12 (except iOS 12.3, 12.3.1 and 12.4.1), and you must use an Apple ID registered in Apple’s Developer Program. In this article, I’ll explain the pros and contras of the new extraction method compared to traditional acquisition based on the jailbreak.

The popular unc0ver jailbreak has been updated to v4, and this is quite a big deal. The newest update advertises support for the latest A12 and A13 devices running iOS 13 through 13.3. The current version of iOS is 13.3.1. None of the older versions (including iOS 13.3) are signed, but still there are a lot of A12/A12X/A13 devices floating around. Until now, file system and keychain extraction was a big problem. The newest unc0ver jailbreak makes it possible.

What is DFU, and how is it different from the recovery mode? How do you switch the device to recovery, DFU or SOS mode, what can you do while in these modes and what do they mean in the context of digital forensics? Can you use DFU to jailbreak the device and perform the extraction if you don’t know the passcode? Read along to find out.

We have recently updated Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit, adding the ability to acquire the file system from a wide range of iOS devices. The supported devices include models ranging from the iPhone 5s through the iPhone X regardless of the iOS version; more on that in iOS Device Acquisition with checkra1n Jailbreak. In today’s update (for both Windows and macOS platforms as usual), we’ve added the ability to extract select keychain records in the BFU (Before First Unlock) mode. We have a few other changes and some tips on extracting locked and disabled devices.

We’ve just announced a major update to iOS Forensic Toolkit, now supporting the full range of devices that can be exploited with the unpatchable checkra1n jailbreak.  Why is the checkra1n jailbreak so important for the forensic community, and what new opportunities in acquiring Apple devices does it present to forensic experts? We’ll find out what types of data are available on both AFU (after first unlock) and BFU (before first unlock) devices, discuss the possibilities of acquiring locked iPhones, and provide instructions on installing the checkra1n jailbreak. (more…)

Are you excited about the new checkm8 exploit? If you haven’t heard of this major development in the world of iOS jailbreaks, I would recommend to read the Technical analysis of the checkm8 exploit aricle, as well as Developer of Checkm8 explains why iDevice jailbreak exploit is a game changer. The good news is that a jailbreak based on this exploit is already available, look at the checkra1n web site.

The release of macOS Catalina brought the usual bunch of security updates. One of those new security features directly affects how you install Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit on Macs running the new OS. In this guide we’ll provide step by step instructions on installing and running iOS Forensic Toolkit on computers running macOS 10.15 Catalina. Note: on macOS Catalina, you must use iOS Forensic Toolkit 5.11 or newer (older versions may also work but not recommended).

When you perform Apple iCloud acquisition, it almost does not matter what platform to use, Windows or macOS (I say almost, because some differences still apply, as macOS has better/native iCloud support). Logical acquisition can be done on any platform as well. But when doing full file system acquisition of jailbroken devices using Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit, we strongly recommend using macOS. If you are strongly tied to Windows, however, there are some things you should know.

The iOS 12.4 jailbreak is out, and so is Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit. Using the two together, one can image the file system and decrypt the keychain of iPhone and iPad devices running most versions of iOS (except iOS 12.3 and and the latest 12.4.1, but 12.4 is still signed right now).

This post continues the series of articles about Apple companion devices. If you haven’t seen them, you may want to read Apple TV and Apple Watch Forensics 01: Acquisition first. If you are into Apple Watch forensics, have a look at Apple Watch Forensics 02: Analysis as well. Today we’ll have a look at what’s inside of the Apple TV.