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The question of law enforcement and the need to unlock someone's smartphone is complex, both technically and ethically. It turns out that Apple's Face ID devices, like the iPhone X and iPhone XS, only complicate things. A new leak revealed that a police scout company was instructing the police not to look at the screens of the suspects' iPhones with Face ID, which would give them as much chance as possible of unlocking the device.
Face ID works as follows: Users have five attempts to take a look at the face recognition cameras on the front of the iPhone to unlock it. If these attempts fail, either because the user was not correctly recognized, or because he was not the current owner, Face ID is disabled and the device requires the entering a secret code to unlock it.
As detailed by Motherboard, a leaked slide from Elcomsoft reveals that the forensic society is teaching these steps to law enforcement in the US, explaining that if agents too often view the screen of an iPhone Face ID, it can use all five unlocking attempts.
"It's pretty simple. A secret code is required after five unsuccessful attempts to associate a face, "said Elcomsoft CEO Vladimir Katalov. Motherboard. "So, looking in the suspect's phone, [the] the investigator immediately loses one of the [the] attempts. "
The Fifth Amendment protects suspects against the obligation to give their secret code to unlock a device, but biometric security systems, such as face and fingerprint sensors, do not benefit from this protection and can be used legally as access. Earlier this year, an FBI investigation revealed the first case of a suspect forced to unlock his iPhone X with a facial identity scan.
Until they become familiar with the security systems of the latest smartphones, agents will need to take extra care when handling suspects' devices.
SOURCE Motherboard
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