iPhone file system encryption does not protect your data
Tässä poikkeuksellisesti englanninkielisessä kirjoituksessamme käsittelemme maailmalla julkaistua iPhonen salausavaimien laitteesta lukemiseen tarkoitettua työkalua:
iOS devices iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch support file system encryption but it is not actually protecting data very well. Apple’s documentation states that data is protected at rest, even when the device is lost or stolen. Unfortunately, that doesn’t hold. Even though algorithm might be decent there are weaknesses in the design. Due to these weaknesses it is possible to gain unauthorized access to the data stored on devices left unattended even when the device is protected with passcode. With help of simple tools data can be compromised within minutes. Naturally some of these tools are freely available.
Starting from iOS 4 the operating system encrypts all files on the device. The encryption key for the file system is stored on the device. The problem is, the encryption key is not using any passphrase and encryption is always opened automatically without any user input when the device starts up. It mostly gives you just a false sense of security. Luckily, emails and attachments stored on device are still protected further with user’s passcode key if passcode lock is enabled. This passcode key then protects emails when a device is locked and allows access only when user unlocks the device with passcode.
What is the role of passcode
It is possible to circumvent the normal iOS boot procedure and attach additional software to the operating system. One such method is jailbreaking and others exist that do not actually even write anything to the device storage. When circumventing the boot procedure it is then possible to install SSH server or other software to access data stored on the device even when it is locked with passcode. The passcode is not protecting because it simply locks the user interface and the files are accessed over network or USB connection behind the scenes. All the files apart from emails are readable. It then allows to copy valuable information such as call history, text messages, contacts, calendar and location history. Jailbreaking also allows installing some additional software such as tools to spy the victim. There are easy to follow instructions and tools available to perform the jailbreak and installing SSH server. This won’t take long and 15 minutes or less should be enough when properly prepared.
Now there’s one new method available. ElcomSoft has made tools to read the encryption keys from the device to access encrypted file system dumps. The advantage is that you can dump the encrypted file system to work on a bit-to-bit copy of data. It then gives you more time and possibility to access also data that is protected by user’s passcode key such as emails and attachments.
However, you need to brute-force the passcode (four digits by default) or get access to escrow keys stored in iTunes that syncs with the device. It is then recommended to disable four-digit simple passcode and require complex passcodes much harder to brute-force.
Summary:
Should you leave iPhone unattended for a while most of your data could be compromised.
Lauri Kiiski works as a security consultant in Nixu’s Inspect business unit.
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