this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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329
FBI Couldn’t Get into WaPo Reporter’s iPhone Because It Had Lockdown Mode Enabled (www.404media.co)
submitted 6 hours ago by tonytins@pawb.social to c/technology@lemmy.world
75 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The FBI has been unable to access a Washington Post reporter’s seized iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode, a sometimes overlooked feature that makes iPhones broadly more secure, according to recently filed court records.

The court record shows what devices and data the FBI was able to ultimately access, and which devices it could not, after raiding the home of the reporter, Hannah Natanson, in January as part of an investigation into leaks of classified information. It also provides rare insight into the apparent effectiveness of Lockdown Mode, or at least how effective it might be before the FBI may try other techniques to access the device.

“Because the iPhone was in Lockdown mode, CART could not extract that device,” the court record reads, referring to the FBI’s Computer Analysis Response Team, a unit focused on performing forensic analyses of seized devices. The document is written by the government, and is opposing the return of Natanson’s devices.

Archive: http://archive.today/gfTg9

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[–] voidsignal@lemmy.world 6 points 5 hours ago (7 children)

Well, since the reporter does not really own the phone, the FBI will now turn to Apple ordering them to disable that false sentiment of security.

If you don't hold the keys, it's not encrypted.

[–] Teal@lemmy.zip 15 points 5 hours ago (4 children)

If a person is using lockdown mode they more than likely also have Advanced Data Protection enabled. This removes iCloud keys on Apple’s side and is only stored on device.

In that case you hold the keys and it’s encrypted.

[–] voidsignal@lemmy.world -5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

You still don't have the key. The device, allegedly, has it, but you have no access to the device.

So no, you still have zilsh.

[–] Teal@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

Yes you do. In fact Apple warns you several times to keep copies of the key secure because there’s no way for them to help if it’s lost.

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