iOS hacking tools used by FBI appear online after hack

The suspected tools used by the US FBI to break into a terrorist’s iPhone have likely surfaced online. A hacker broke into the servers of the Israeli software company Cellebrite and stole the hacking tools there.

The hacker responsible for the hack would have funneled 900GB of data away from Cellebrite’s servers, as it turned out last month. The hacking tools have now been put online via Pastebin. Motherboard spoke to the hacker involved, who said that a fully functional and decrypted Python source code has been put online that can be used to break into iOS devices. The Universal Forensic Extraction Device, among others, is said to have been put online, the main product that Cellebrite sells to its customers. This allows information to be extracted from smartphones, although physical access to the device is required.

It is likely the same tools that the US FBI bought from Cellebrite in an attempt to unlock a terrorist’s iPhone. This case caused quite a stir, especially since the FBI initially tried to force Apple to unlock the iPhone. In the end, the authorities were able to gain access to the device, probably with the help of Cellebrite.

According to researchers, the tools put online by the Cellebrite hacker look a lot like software already used for jailbreaking. References were also found to Samsung and BlackBerry, so that the stolen Cellebrite software may be used more widely than just on iOS.