A major security breach in Apple’s iCloud network occurred this week, leaking nude photographs and private information from a number of celebrities. One detail about this case that has been largely overlooked by the mainstream media is the fact that this security breach was made possible by police software that was highjacked by hackers.
According to Wired, hackers openly discussed using a piece of software called EPPB or Elcomsoft Phone Password Breaker to download their victims’ data from iCloud backups.
These details were revealed on the web forum Anon-IB, one of the primary sites that is used for hosting hacked material of this nature. The software is created by a company called Elcomsoft, and it is made specifically for law enforcement and government agents.
The software allows hackers to impersonate someone’s iPhone when accessing the iCloud network, where they can then download a back up of the person’s data.
Many experts have said that this security breach would not have been possible without this software.
“You don’t get the same level of access by logging into someone’s [web] account as you can by emulating a phone that’s doing a restore from an iCloud backup. If we didn’t have this law enforcement tool, we might not have the leaks we had,” Jonathan Zdziarski, a forensics consult and security researcher said.
“What this demonstrates is that even without explicit back-doors, law enforcement has powerful tools that might not always stay inside law enforcement. You have to ask if you trust law enforcement. But even if you do trust law enforcement, you have to ask whether other people will get access to these tools, and how they’ll use them,” he added.
John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he is also the owner of a successful music promotion company. In 2013, he became one of the organizers of the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com.
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