iPhone users, a security question for you

The short version:
1)Yes
2)Yes but I don't use them.

Longer:
The 4-digit passcode lock is reasonably secure. I'm certainly satisfied with it. However, there ARE quite a few apps available to increase security, and of course if you work at NORAD or something, I'm sure you would want those. Those can let you use the camera to take a picture of the thief, use the GPS to locate the phone, add additional passwords or layers of security, securely save your passwords to various online websites, filter email spam, and so on.

However, that passcode lock is pretty secure in itself. Here's a recent story of a person trying to access an ipad with a 4-digit passcode.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/04/ipad-survives-ride-lodged-in-cars-bumper/
If you've got police, pretty much the only way they're going to get past that passcode is by getting a warrant and getting the passcode from Apple or the cell phone carrier. The request for a warrant could easily become caught up in bureaucracy, forcing them to wait a few days/weeks.

melindamusil said:

If you've got police, pretty much the only way they're going to get past that passcode is by getting a warrant and getting the passcode from Apple or the cell phone carrier. The request for a warrant could easily become caught up in bureaucracy, forcing them to wait a few days/weeks.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, that's not quite true. They can't force you to give them the passcode, but it's not very difficult to get past a 4-digit passcode using forensic tools, and in many states the police will do just that, without obtaining a warrant. This is being challenged in court, of course, but it's happened in many places, and some courts have found it unconstitutional and others have not. Using a complex password (which is an option on any iPhone) will make it more difficult to decrypt, however.

If it's a standard a four-character passcode?

Ten minutes or less to crack. And if you've got the right tools, you don't have to crack the passcode.

And that's all I'm saying about that.

You're going at this question the wrong way. Start with what are they looking for on the phone? Phone records are easier to get from the phone company, for instance.

Next question is where does the person back up their phone? Many iPhone users use iCloud, which is easily available through Apple and a subpoena.

Unless your phone user is seriously into security, hacking an iPhone isn't hard. And nearly every phone has a couple of backdoors for law enforcement to get in.

How long do you want to delay the police?

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

I don't use the passcode lock on mine. I figure it's easy to break so why bother? In my time-travel story they're trying to get past the lock because they have the phone and some bones and they want to know who the phone belongs to. So they take it to Forensics people et voila.

Maybe the criminal used the Where's my iPhone? app to remotely wipe the phone. So they get in and there's...nothing.

Wipe my phone just stops a casual hacker. It's easy to work around.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

jclarkdawe said:

Wipe my phone just stops a casual hacker. It's easy to work around.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Click to expand...

Wouldn't slow them down at all? Eh, well, at least you didn't say the scenario I used in my book was ridiculous! lol

jclarkdawe said:

Wipe my phone just stops a casual hacker. It's easy to work around.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Click to expand...

The factory reset zeros out then re-writes.

Buffysquirrel said:

I don't use the passcode lock on mine. I figure it's easy to break so why bother?

Click to expand...

It isn't designed to stop a hacker; rather, it's primary purpose is to prevent use of the phone as a phone to make calls and purchases.

Medievalist said:

It isn't designed to stop a hacker; rather, it's primary purpose is to prevent use of the phone as a phone to make calls and purchases.

Click to expand...

I see. Well, I think the lack of credit might do that atm .