A new iOS 18 security feature makes it harder for police to unlock iPhones

There’s a new iOS 18 security feature that restarts iPhones that haven’t been unlocked in a few days, which has angered police by making it harder to jailbreak suspects’ iPhones, according to a report. 404 Media.

404 Media, which first reported the police warnings about the restarts on Thursday, writing that the restarted iPhones are in “Before First Unlock,” or BFU status that is more secure. Now, it appears that Apple has added “inactive restart” code to iOS 18.1 that enables iPhones to restart after they’ve been locked for four days, Chris Wade, founder of mobile analytics firm Corellium, told the outlet.

Both iOS and Android devices enter this BFU state upon reboot, requiring you to enter your passcode (or PIN) to unlock your phone, which limits what data forensics experts can extract, according to Dakota State’s digital blog University. forensics lab.

Apple did not immediately respond The Vergerequest for comment. The company has slowly made iPhones cheaper over the years, putting them at odds with the law and raising the specter of government regulations that need to be rolled back. Apple has repeatedly resisted requests by authorities to create backdoors, although that hasn’t stopped law enforcement from finding their own workarounds.