For several years running, the US government has been mounting pressure on tech Apple to create a so-called “backdoor” on its smartphone so that law enforcement agencies can readily get access to encrypted data when there is need for such. This has often been rebuffed by Apple. That is why there have been lots of headlines recently about the US government trying to convince companies such as Apple to hand over “backdoor” access to smartphone data of persons on trial for criminal offences. 
It has now emerged that the government doesn’t need Apple’s help anymore, after all. A recent report carried by Vice as revealed that the government has been successfully cracking smartphone encryption especially on iPhones without Apple’s help. Interestingly, Android smartphones that were thought to have less secure encryption have been getting increasingly more difficult to crack.
According to Texas detective Rex Kiser, who conducts digital forensic examinations for the Fort Worth Police Department; “A year ago we couldn’t get into iPhones, but we could get into all the Androids. Now we can’t get into a lot of the Androids.”
Vice’s report also contains a claim that a US company called Cellebrite, which is usually hired by government agencies to crack smartphones, already has a tool that can crack iPhone encryption all the way up to the iPhone X. The report claims the tool can successfully give investigators access to data such as GPS records, messages, call logs, contacts, or even data from specific apps like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more, which can be used to prosecute criminals.
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However, the tool used by Cellebrite has reportedly not been very successful with Android encryption on a variety of handsets. For instance, the tool wasn’t able to extract any social media, internet browsing, or GPS data from devices like the Google Pixel 2, which features a tamper-resistant hardware security module, and the Samsung Galaxy S9. The report says the Huawei P20 Pro didn’t give access to any data at all which is pretty impressive. This may well support Huawei’s insistence that its phones don’t have a backdoor that can be accessed by the Chinese government. 
However, do note that this report doesn’t mean your Android device is uncrackable despite the Cellebrite tool not working on some Android devices. Investigators can still extract needed data even on new phones like the iPhone 11 Pro Max but the process is a bit more labour-intensive and takes more time. However, if security and privacy are major concerns to you, then do note that there are better alternatives than the Apple iPhone.
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