It’s been 10 years since we have released one of our flagship products, Elcomsoft Phone Breaker. The first version appeared in April 2011, and was named “iPhone Password Breaker”.  Since then, we made tons of improvements. The tool lost the “iPhone” designation, and the “Password” part was dropped from its name because it was no longer limited to iPhones or passwords. Today, the tool can offer unmatched features for the mobile forensic specialists.

The Screen Time password has been long recommended as an extra security layer. By setting a Screen Time password without any additional restrictions, Apple users could easily dodge attempts of changing or removing the screen lock passcode, resetting the iTunes backup password, or removing the activation lock. For a long time, removing the Screen Time password was not possible without either providing the original password or erasing the device. However, Apple had changed the way it works, making it possible to reset the Screen Time password with an iCloud/Apple ID password.

We have published multiple articles on iPhone backup passwords already, covering the different aspects of the backup protection. In this publication, we have collected the most important information about the things you can do under different circumstances, some software recommendations, and some other practical tips and tricks, in a brief and simple form.

Passwords are probably the oldest authentication method. Despite their age, passwords remain the most popular authentication method in today’s digital age. Compared to other authentication mechanisms, they have many tangible benefits. They can be as complex or as easy to remember as needed; they can be easy to use and secure at the same time (if used properly).

We have a bunch of mobile forensic tools. We have tools for extracting data from jailbroken iPhones and tools for decrypting password-protected backups. Tools for downloading data from iCloud and tools for analyzing user data mined by Google. We even have a tool for decrypting backups produced by BlackBerry 10, one of the most secure OS’es on the market.