FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled

Post by NetMageSCW » Wed, Feb 04, 2026, 10:31 PM UTC

NewsaHackO wrote: post #254

nxobject wrote: post #146

Sadly, they still got to her Signal on her Desktop – her sources might still be compromised. It's sadly inherent to desktop applications, but I'm sad that a lot more people don't know that Signal for Desktop is much, much less secure against adversaries with your laptop.

Yea, I also would want to question the conclusions in the article. Was the issue that they couldn't unlock the iPhone, or that they had no reason to pursue the thread? To my understanding, the Apple ecosystem means that everything is synced together. If they already got into her laptop, wouldn't all of the iMessages, call history, and iCloud material already be synced there? What would be the gain of going after the…

Post by sejje » Wed, Feb 04, 2026, 10:34 PM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #423

nova22033 wrote: post #236

Remember...they can make you use touch id...they can't make you give them your password. https://x.com/runasand/status/2017659019251343763?s=20 The FBI was able to access Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Signal messages because she used Signal on her work laptop. The laptop accepted Touch ID for authentication, meaning the agents were allowed to require her to unlock it.

I don't get why I can be forced to use my biometrics to unlock but I cannot be forced to give a pin. Doesn't jive in my brain.

Post by direwolf20 » Wed, Feb 04, 2026, 10:35 PM UTC

sejje wrote: post #474

direwolf20 wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When they arrest you, they have physical control of your body. You're in handcuffs. They can put your fingers against the unlock button. You can make a fist, but they can have more strength and leverage to unfist your fist. There's no known technique to force you to input a password.

Are we not talking about a legal difference? That was my reading.

Post by Melatonic » Wed, Feb 04, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC

niemandhier wrote: post #441

Depending on your jurisdiction faceid is safer than fingerprint, because faceid won’t unlock while your eyes are closed. In many European countries forcing your finger on a scanner would be permissible under certain circumstances, forcing your eyes open so far has been deemed unacceptable.

Post by djhn » Wed, Feb 04, 2026, 10:58 PM UTC

parl_match wrote: post #319

patrickmay wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the knowledge of which finger to use protected as much as a passcode? Law enforcement might have the authority to physically hold the owner's finger to the device, but it seems that the owner has the right to refuse to disclose which finger is the right one. If law enforcement doesn't guess correctly in a few tries, the device could lock itself and require the passcode. Another reason to use my dog's nose instead…

I really wish Apple would offer a pin option on macos. For this reason, precisely. Either that, or an option to automatically disable touchid after a short amount of time (eg an hour or if my phone doesn't connect to the laptop)