Feds & Cop Agencies Across US in Negotiations to Acquire the GrayKey Device to Unlock I-Phones

From [MORE] It would appear that there’s a new best way to break into a locked iPhone as of this February. Back in February of this year, the startup known as Grayshift sent out an announcement of a new sort of device they’d whipped up. They had a device that apparently unlocked an iPhone – any iPhone – so that said iPhone could be rummaged through and utilized by law enforcement. Or, say, less-than-reputable persons. Of course, they’d never say they were all about such things at Grayshift.

Back in early March, word got out that Grayshift was shopping around a device called GrayKey. In a Motherboard investigation released this week, it seems obvious that this company’s well on their way to being the most-used solution for breaking into iOS devices by law enforcement across the United States. A report from Malwarebytes showed a photo of the device, complete with in-use screenshots.

“The existence of the GrayKey isn’t hugely surprising, nor is it a sign that the sky is falling,” said Malwarebytes’ Thomas Reed. “However, it does mean that an iPhone’s security cannot be ensured if it falls into a third party’s hands.” Reports in March suggested that one employee at Grayshift is (or was) Braden Thomas, a former Apple security engineer.

Documents acquired by Motherboard showed federal agencies and police forces across the United States in negotiations – or at least preliminary talks – to acquire the GrayKey device. The good news is that GrayKey isn’t selling their devices to just anyone – and they aren’t selling their devices cheap. [more]