US law enforcement agencies have obtained an iPhone unlocking device that allows them to access all Apple phones running iOS 11 and later. This is a box called GrayKey, which is behind the company Grayshift.
You could be interested in
We already informed you that GrayKey can crack four- and six-digit passcodes in a matter of days, however, information has surfaced that the phone will be unlocked in much less time. Apparently, the GrayKey device should unlock an iPhone with a six-digit passcode in just a few hours.
Matthew Green, an assistant professor and cryptographer at the John Hopkins Information Security Institute, wrote on Twitter that GrayKey can obtain a four-digit code in just 6,5 minutes and a six-digit code in 11 hours.
Guide to iOS estimated passcode cracking times (assumes random decimal passcode + an exploit that breaks SEP throttling):
4 digits: ~13min worst (~6.5avg)
6 digits: ~22.2hrs worst (~11.1avg)
8 digits: ~92.5days worst (~46avg)
10 digits: ~9259days worst (~4629avg)- Matthew Green (@matthew_d_green) April 16, 2018
In iOS, you can set to delete all data on the iPhone after 10 unsuccessful attempts to enter the code. In addition, after 5 unsuccessful attempts, the iPhone will be locked for a certain period of time, for example 5 minutes. However, it seems that GrayKey can bypass even such protections.
While it is not confirmed whether GrayKey can actually unlock an iPhone in as short a time as Green stated, it takes a few days to unlock even at a slower speed. The box could handle an eight-digit code in a month and a few days, and a ten-digit code in more than 13 years.
You could be interested in
After the release of iOS 9 in 2015, the Cupertino company started to use a six-digit code, so that iOS devices were better protected, however, at that time it was not known about the GrayKey device, for which a six-digit code is nothing that it cannot overcome.
Security experts agree that people should use an alphanumeric passcode that is at least seven characters long and uses numbers, letters and symbols. If you want to change the access code from the original six-digit numeric to alphanumeric, just go to Settings → Touch ID and code lock (on iPhone X Face ID and passcode lock) → Change the lock code → Code options → Custom alphanumeric code.
See how to change a numeric passcode to alphanumeric:
Once you select an alphanumeric code, you will see a classic keyboard instead of a numeric keypad when entering the code.
