Even the FBI can’t crack a simple Android screen unlock pattern

Even the FBI can't crack a simple Android screen unlock pattern

If you wondered how secure your Android phone was if you were using a screen pattern lock as a password, then rest assured: even the FBI can’t crack them.

Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US have been trying to unlock a Samsung Android handset that was recovered in a prostitution case, but so far all their efforts have failed spectacularly.

They way the protection works is that once too many wrong swipes have been made, it can only be unlocked by inputting the handset’s Google e-mail address and accompanying password.

Seeing as the FBI don’t have those details and can’t crack the unlock pattern, they’ve now been forced to  try to get a warrant to have Google pass on the required authentication information.

One final ‘nuclear’ option is to dismantle a phone and attempt to extract data from the physical components inside, although there’s a good chance that the phone may well end up well and truly borked as a result.

[Via]

About mike s

Editor, wirefresh.com

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One Comment on “Even the FBI can’t crack a simple Android screen unlock pattern”

  1. lol .. you can crack that!! the fbi guru must not be that smart! .. it requires deleting files in the efs .. not going into details 😛

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