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Is there a secure enclave in the 5C? My understanding is that there is not, and that if there was, then what the FBI is requesting simply wouldn't be possible.
by Crito 11y ago
Is there a secure enclave in the 5C? My understanding is that there is not, and that if there was, then what the FBI is requesting simply wouldn't be possible.
- criddell 11y agoYou're right, the 5C has no secure enclave. However, I believe the issue is that phones that do have a secure enclave are still vulnerable because the secure enclave firmware can be updated and basically neutered to the point where the same attack on the 5C works on those phones as well. I think the attack is just a brute force attack.
- Crito 11y agoThe attack is a brute force attack. My understanding is that if a secure enclave is present, then the PIN timeout feature which prevents brute force is implemented in the secure enclave. If the secure enclave did not permit updates, then this logic would be relatively unassailable. But since the 5C has no secure enclave, the PIN lockout logic can simply be overwritten by updating the OS.
- criddell 11y agoI think you and I have the same understanding. Even with no secure enclave, if a user picks a good password (which nobody does on a phone), the security is still unassailable.