Report: Apple can bypass the lockscreen on iphone5c to comply with FBI

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But, argues Trail of Bits, it would be possible to put the iPhone into DFU mode and then overwrite the firmware with a version that has neither the auto-erase mode nor delays between passcode attempts. The FBI could then trivially brute-force its way into the phone.

The FBI can’t overwrite the firmware because the device checks for a valid Apple signature. The FBI doesn’t have this. But Apple does. Apple could thus create signed firmware without the protections designed to defeat brute-force attacks, and hand the phone back to the FBI.

All this supposes that iPhone is only protected by a 4-digit passcode, however. If a complex password was used, no-one in the FBI would live long enough to gain access.

Trail of Bits goes on to argue that the Secure Enclave would further complicate things on some devices. This wouldn’t apply in this particular case – as the iPhone 5c doesn’t have a Secure Enclave – but the company suggests that on later devices this would prevent Apple changing the firmware on a locked phone, and that the Secure Enclave itself cannot be overwritten without effectively erasing the device.

John Kelly, head of info security at Square, who previous worked for Apple on embedded security and thus presumably knows his stuff, says that it is perfectly possible for Apple to overwrite the Secure Enclave firmware without preventing access.

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All of which means that Apple can no longer rely on claiming that it cannot assist law enforcement agencies to break into iPhones:

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