According to the Yedioth Ahronoth news article, an Israeli company based on Petah Tikva, Cellebrite, is third-party responsible for helping the FBI crack the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. However, Cellebrite has no comments regarding the report.
If ever Cellebrite will successfully breach the said iPhone, FBI will no longer need the help of Apple and put an end to the long battle over Farook’s phone. Cellebrite is one of the leading digital forensic company in the world and is working with many authorities regarding intelligence, defence and law enforcement.
Cellebrite is also currently in contract with FBI since 2013 to provide decryption technology to be used in extracting valuable information in locked phones. This information could be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.
In the past days, FBI made a move to announce that they will be using a third-party to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. This not only starts a widespread discussion on who is it but also the method that the third-party will be using. Some experts have predictions regarding what method to be used, such as NAND Mirroring that eliminates the trial limit of unlocking an iPhone. FBI has not announced any further details but said that they are “cautiously optimistic” that it would work.
“We must first test this method to ensure that it doesn’t destroy the data on the phone,” a Justice Department spokesperson said. “That is why we asked the court to give us some time to explore this option.”