The Daily Populous

Thursday October 25th, 2018 evening edition

image for Apple seems to have completely blocked police password cracking tool in iOS 12

Earlier this year, Apple updated iOS to block passcode cracking tools like GrayKey (used by police and government law enforcement officers).

But the original iOS 11.4.1 patch wasn’t perfect, with researchers still finding ways around it.

That seems to have changed with the release of iOS 12 last month, which a recent Forbes report notes appears to have completely blocked the GrayKey tool, preventing it from cracking the password of any devices running the latest software.

It’s not clear what Apple’s done to lock out GrayKey.

GrayKey first made waves earlier this year as a tool specifically developed and sold to police departments to break passwords on iPhones for use in investigations.

But according to police officer Captain John Sherwin (from the Rochester Police Department in Minnesota), it’s a “fairly accurate assessment” to say that Apple has stopped GrayKey from unlocking updated devices.

Whatever Apple did to block GrayKey here, though, chances are that Grayshift — the company that develops GrayKey — is already looking for a workaround to continue to bypass Apple’s password systems. »

China and Russia listen in on Trump's personal phone calls: NYT

Authored by thehill.com

Although Trump's aides have repeatedly warned him that his three personal iPhones are not secure, the president refuses to give them up, the Times reported.

While Russia's efforts are reportedly less coordinated, they are listening in to conversations in order to seek insight into the Trump's thinking.

The president has reportedly refused to swap out his official phones every 30 days, as is typical, citing the inconvenience it causes, the Times reported. »

Scarlett Johansson reportedly turned down film funding from Saudi prince

Authored by theguardian.com

Scarlett Johansson reportedly vetoed funding from the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for her next film.

The actor is set to play the Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario in a biopic directed by Ridley Scott, but when she found out the initial set of funders included Bin Salman, she rejected his involvement.

“Scarlett Johansson said absolutely not,” Addario said in an interview with Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. »

Black Voters in Georgia Say Something Funny Is Going on With Their Voting Machines

Authored by theroot.com

Other voters have reported incidences of machines spitting their ballot card out when they inserted it into the electronic voting machines.

“These machines are old but it’s incumbent upon the people running the election to ensure that machines are fully functional.”.

In Georgia ... On the exact same voting machines that the NAACP has received complaints about. »