Cellebrite Physical Analyzer Tool Drops Full iPhone Support After High-Profile Signal Hack
Last week, the CEO of messaging app Signal got his hands on Cellebrite software, which is typically used for extracting data from mobile devices. Several security vulnerabilities were discovered with this acquisition, leading to Signal including files in its app that would corrupt all present and future data collected by the Cellebrite utility. Now, the Cellebrite Physical Analyzer, or “the most intrusive phone cracking tool offered by the company,” is no longer fully supporting iPhones.
Cellebrite is an Israeli digital forensics and intelligence company that provides both hardware and software to crack phones. These products are used by law enforcement agencies around the world and has become ubiquitous with phone cracking. This sort of utility exists in a moral and legal gray area, so people are concerned about its ethics and their own privacy. When Signal CEO Moxie Marlinspike got their hands on the product, it was seen as a win for privacy as the Signal app now includes files to block and ruin data collection by a Cellebrite device.
However, this does not mean that iPhones are safe from data extraction because Cellebrite users can use the UFED app to extract the data and then send it to the Physical Analyzer. Perhaps iPhone devices will become safe at some point in the future if Apple decides to go after Cellebrite for the inclusion of iTunes software packages in Cellebrite’s software. Whatever ends up happening, keep an eye on HotHardware for updates on Cellebrite software.
