Ethical Hacking News
Law enforcement agencies may have finally found a way to bypass Apple's latest iPhone security feature, which has been making it difficult for them to access data stored on seized iPhones. The GrayKey Preserve bypass allows police to keep iPhones in a state where some data is unencrypted and easier to access, giving them a new tool in their arsenal to access data stored on iPhones.
Apple's latest iPhone security feature, "inactivity reboot," automatically reverts an iPhone to a more secure state if it has been inactive for more than 72 hours.A new bypass tool, GrayKey Preserve, has been discovered that allows law enforcement to access data stored on iPhones even with the inactivity reboot feature enabled.The GrayKey Preserve bypass keeps the iPhone in an "After First Unlock" (AFU) state, where some data is unencrypted and easier to access and extract.The tool makes it harder for device owners to revert the device remotely by placing the device in Airplane Mode and cutting off access to wireless connections.The discovery of the GrayKey Preserve bypass has significant implications for law enforcement agencies and marks a new development in the cat-and-mouse game between Apple and law enforcement.
Apple's latest iPhone security feature, introduced in 2024, has been a major challenge for law enforcement agencies around the world. The feature, known as the "inactivity reboot," automatically reverts an iPhone to a more secure state if it has been inactive for more than 72 hours. This means that if a police officer seizes an iPhone from a suspect, they will not be able to access the device's contents until the iPhone is powered back on, at which point it will revert to a state that requires the user's passcode to access.
However, according to a report from 404 Media, a company that develops tools for law enforcement, a new way to bypass this feature has been discovered. The tool, called GrayKey Preserve, is part of a larger tool called GrayKey, which allows law enforcement to unlock and access data stored on iPhones and Android devices without needing a user's passcode.
The GrayKey Preserve bypass is significant because it allows police to keep iPhones in a state referred to as After First Unlock (AFU), where some data on the device is unencrypted and easier to access and extract. Apple's security feature would revert a device to a Before First Unlock (BFU) state when inactive for 72 hours, reactivating the more thorough encryption protections.
According to Magnet Forensics, the company behind the GrayKey tool, the GrayKey Preserve bypass can keep the phone in the AFU state even if it reboots. It also seems to make it harder for the device owner to revert the device remotely by placing the device in Airplane Mode and cutting off access to wireless connections.
This development has significant implications for law enforcement agencies around the world, who have been struggling to access data stored on iPhones seized from suspects. The GrayKey Preserve bypass is expected to change the dynamics of the cat-and-mouse game between Apple and law enforcement, with the latter now having a new tool in their arsenal to access data stored on iPhones.
Apple has not commented on the GrayKey Preserve bypass, but it is clear that the company has been working to address the issue of law enforcement agencies accessing data stored on iPhones. The introduction of the inactivity reboot feature was likely intended to make it more difficult for law enforcement to access data stored on iPhones, but it appears that law enforcement agencies have found a way around this feature.
The discovery of the GrayKey Preserve bypass is a reminder that the cat-and-mouse game between Apple and law enforcement agencies is ongoing. While Apple has been working to make its devices more secure, law enforcement agencies have been working to find ways to access data stored on these devices. The GrayKey Preserve bypass is a significant development in this ongoing game, and it will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this new development.
In the meantime, law enforcement agencies will likely be eager to get their hands on the GrayKey Preserve tool, which is expected to make it easier for them to access data stored on iPhones. The implications of this tool are significant, and it will be interesting to see how it is used in the future.
Overall, the discovery of the GrayKey Preserve bypass is a significant development in the ongoing game between Apple and law enforcement agencies. While Apple has been working to make its devices more secure, law enforcement agencies have found a way to access data stored on these devices. The GrayKey Preserve bypass is a new tool in the arsenal of law enforcement agencies, and it will be interesting to see how it is used in the future.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Cops-May-Have-Found-a-Way-Around-Apples-Latest-iPhone-Security-Feature-The-GrayKey-Preserve-Bypass-ehn.shtml
https://gizmodo.com/cops-may-hav-found-a-way-around-one-of-apples-toughest-iphone-security-features-2000820383
Published: Thu Oct 1 16:37:32 2026 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
