FBI stymied by Apple’s Lockdown Mode after seizing journalist’s iPhone

Post reporter was compelled to unlock MacBook Pro with fingerprint, however.

See full article...

 

[Darkness1231]

FBI in Trump's dystopia have been given the goon squad attribute
Nobody and no actions or requests by that agency can be trusted

Until the current infection is corrected, and their collaborators, must be excised

 

[finallyarsd]

Apple needs a triple click to Lock on MacOS (similar to iOS) quick, it seems.

 

[jeffronicus]

The claim that the reporter can't be trusted to preserve evidence because she allegedly misled investigators about her not using biometrics might be more effective if the DOJ hadn't itself gotten into the habit of lying about such things.

 

[Golgatha]

Seems my reluctance to enable biometric only unlocking of my devices and/or encryption of my HDD discs was the right choice.

 

[Golgatha]

The claim that the reporter can't be trusted to preserve evidence because she allegedly misled investigators about her not using biometrics might be more effective if the DOJ hadn't itself gotten into the habit of lying about such things.

If I'm ever in this type of situation, I'm staying quiet except to say "lawyer".

 

[poke 532810]

In 2024, a federal appeals court ruled that the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination does not prohibit police officers from forcing a suspect to unlock a phone with a thumbprint scan.

Cases like this are why I do not enable biometrics for unlocking any of my devices. Now if they had an option for biometrics + PIN/password, I might use that.

 

[Person_Man]

I don't get how courts have ruled biometrics could be compelled, but passwords not. But here we are, I hope journalists and others who are targets use strong passwords

 

[bec verdant]

In Brazil, journalist have the constutional right to protect their sources. In the US it seems it was a gentlemans agreement that now got broken.

 

[citizencoyote]

I don't get how courts have ruled biometrics could be compelled, but passwords not. But here we are, I hope journalists and others who are targets use strong passwords

Not a lawyer and the language may not be correct, but I believe it boils down to your fingerprints (and face for that matter) are "publicly accessible," while something like a password or PIN is private knowledge.

 

[KeyboardWeeb]

If I'm ever in this type of situation, I'm staying quiet except to say "lawyer".

Well, say more than lawyer. Explicitly state that you are invoking your rights to an attorney and to remain silent.

Anyway this is why it's best to leave the biometrics off. Or at least have a very quick and subtle way of disabling them!

 

[adespoton]

As previously reported, the FBI executed a search warrant at Natanson’s home as part of an investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of illegally leaking classified data. FBI agents seized an iPhone 13 owned by the Post, one MacBook Pro owned by the Post and another MacBook Pro owned by Natanson, a 1TB portable hard drive, a voice recorder, and a Garmin watch.

I shudder to think what would happen if authorities found some reason to visit my home. I've got collections of computers and computer-adjacent electronics going back to the 1980s.

Not a lawyer and the language may not be correct, but I believe it boils down to your fingerprints (and face for that matter) are "publicly accessible," while something like a password or PIN is private knowledge.

Yeah; and this is the reason that my work devices require a PIN before you get to the Yubikey prompt (which also needs a different PIN), and I never use index finger or thumbprints for unlocking my personal devices. And I use a full keyboard password instead of a numpad PIN on my phone, so a robo-unlocker is going to have serious difficulties.

 

[diabol1k]

I don't get how courts have ruled biometrics could be compelled, but passwords not. But here we are, I hope journalists and others who are targets use strong passwords

I think the distinction is what you are (facial recognition, fingerprints) vs what you know (password, pin). We can’t (yet) be forced to testify against ourselves, which means we can’t be forced to disclose what we know.

 

[Autapomorphy]

I don't get how courts have ruled biometrics could be compelled, but passwords not. But here we are, I hope journalists and others who are targets use strong passwords

That's not a mystery. There's a constitutional right to remain silent, so the contents of your mind are protected in a way that physical attributes are not.

 

[Pink Daisy]

In Brazil, journalist have the constutional right to protect their sources. In the US it seems it was a gentlemans agreement that now got broken.

I think it was a constitutional agreement that got broken. Because the constitution is a law, laws are ruled on by the courts and enforced by the executive, and both the courts and the executive have decided that laws don't apply to them. There's long been the wry observation that people with unlimited dollars for lawyers experience a different set of laws than the rest of us, but the United States now is a lawless country that is coasting on the longstanding precedent that most laws apply to most people.

 

[betam4x]

For those that don't understand the differences: I am unsure about the Mac, as I haven't used one in 2 years, but lockdown mode for iPhone requires a passcode to unlock. The constitution of the United States protects speech, and also guarantees the right to self incriminate. The two combined are why they can't legally demand a passcode. Biometrics are not a form of speech, and are not a form of self incrimination, so they are allowed.

EDIT: A small clarification: the government cannot compel you to say certain things, hence why freedom of speech is part of what I mentioned above. That is also why they aren't supposed to be coercing confessions (if they do and get caught, the whole trial gets thrown out).

 

[adespoton]

I just had a thought: similar to how you can use a non-standard skin surface to unlock a fingerprint reader... has anyone tried training facial recognition unlock with a unique expression or hand in the way? So that a "regular" attempt would fail, but a "secret" gesture would do the trick?

 

[OldEnuf2kno]

The FBI assisted Natanson with applying her right index finger to the fingerprint reader which immediately unlocked the laptop.
Considering how DHS and its affiliates have been operating recently, they probably had two of their agents forcibly hold her in a chair while a third grabbed her arm and fingers and pressed the digit to the screen.

 

[nononsense]

“Natanson’s personal MacBook Pro was powered off when it was found by FBI agents.“

“The FBI said an agent “presented Natanson with her open laptop” and “assisted” her in unlocking the device with her finger.”

“The FBI apparently hasn’t gotten any data from Natanson’s personal computer. “Natanson’s personal MacBook Pro is password protected and encrypted”

I’m a little confused here. The cops did not get into her iPhone because it was powered off and you have to enter the password for the first unlock. Ditto with her personal MAC but they did get into her work computer by compelling her to use her finger. I was having trouble figuring out which laptop was which in that paragraph.

Excuse me while I disable biometrics on my MAC. I already do that on my phone but it never occurred to me to do it on my MAC as well.

 

[wchandler]

Seems like the reporter set in motion a case claiming that compelling a person to use biometrics to unlock a device after telling agents you don't use biometrics is self-incrimination (just like the argument that got PINs protected).

 

[RemoteSensor]

I do wonder how the current push for passkeys instead of passwords will be affected by the potential for situations like this

 

[nononsense]

The FBI assisted Natanson with applying her right index finger to the fingerprint reader which immediately unlocked the laptop.
Considering how DHS and its affiliates have been operating recently, they probably had two of their agents forcibly hold her in a chair while a third grabbed her arm and fingers and pressed the digit to the screen.

Yes, the keyword there is ‘assisted’. If they’d just asked her to use her finger and she did, they would not have had to ‘assist’ her.

 

[Sajuuk]

Apple needs a triple click to Lock on MacOS (similar to iOS) quick, it seems.

Too busy giving Trump gold bars for that, sorry!

Anyway, given American law such as it is, journalists using biometric security are genuinely just asking for this exact outcome.

 

[nononsense]

I do wonder how the current push for passkeys instead of passwords will be affected by the potential for situations like this

That’s the reason you need to access every device you have with a password to unlock them and not biometrics. Once unlocked, I feel more comfortable using passkeys to access certain sites or apps. And always make sure you lock your device when it’s not in use.

 

[citizencoyote]

“Natanson’s personal MacBook Pro was powered off when it was found by FBI agents.“

“The FBI said an agent “presented Natanson with her open laptop” and “assisted” her in unlocking the device with her finger.”

“The FBI apparently hasn’t gotten any data from Natanson’s personal computer. “Natanson’s personal MacBook Pro is password protected and encrypted”

I’m a little confused here. The cops did not get into her iPhone because it was powered off and you have to enter the password for the first unlock. Ditto with her personal MAC but they did get into her work computer by compelling her to use her finger. I was having trouble figuring out which laptop was which in that paragraph.

Excuse me while I disable biometrics on my MAC. I already do that on my phone but it never occurred to me to do it on my MAC as well.

Her work laptop is the one they were able to access via her "assistance." I assume it was on but maybe asleep or something. Her personal laptop was powered off and had no biometrics and her iPhone was in lockdown mode, so they had no way of accessing those.

 

[wildsman]

That's not a mystery. There's a constitutional right to remain silent, so the contents of your mind are protected in a way that physical attributes are not.

It is a specious ruling: functionally, being forced to use your fingerprint is exactly the same as being forced to reveal your password.

Legally, it all depends on what state you're in...

In a ruling last year, DC Circuit Court recognised this equivalence and said you can't be forced to use your fingerprints:
https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/advisories/2025/03/when-your-fingers-do-the-talking

But then, a NJ supreme court has used this equivalence to rule the opposite and they compel you to reveal your passcode:
https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-134/state-v-andrews/

Until there's a federal ruling on this, it's the wild wild west out there....

 

[wildsman]

Cases like this are why I do not enable biometrics for unlocking any of my devices. Now if they had an option for biometrics + PIN/password, I might use that.

Even that won't save you in NJ: It all depends on what state you're in.

https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-134/state-v-andrews/

 

[zdanee]

FBI in Trump's dystopia have been given the goon squad attribute
Nobody and no actions or requests by that agency can be trusted

Until the current infection is corrected, and their collaborators, must be excised

Sure, the real problem is how to keep it clean? Is this gonna repeat every second cycle? Every institution and ruling body just gonna get taken over repeatedy by opposing parties trying to punish the other half of the country, each time going further in the name of "cleaning out the garbage"? I'm afraid this is gonna take more than a new president, this is gonna need fundamental changes in how the country is governed. That is if we want to keep up the democratic appereances.

 

[IPunchCholla]

I don't get how courts have ruled biometrics could be compelled, but passwords not. But here we are, I hope journalists and others who are targets use strong passwords

The same way the 4th amendment doesn’t apply within 100 miles of the border (including international airports).

 

[HydraShok]

Apple needs a triple click to Lock on MacOS (similar to iOS) quick, it seems.

I think that if you enable lockdown mode on one device, it should enable it on everything linked to your Apple account immediately, and each device must be manually removed from lockdown mode individually.

 

[fcheung]

I just had a thought: similar to how you can use a non-standard skin surface to unlock a fingerprint reader... has anyone tried training facial recognition unlock with a unique expression or hand in the way? So that a "regular" attempt would fail, but a "secret" gesture would do the trick?

I think it’s been found that a cat’s nose can be used with TouchID. Could get quite inconvenient though.

 

[Waco]

And people wonder why I won't use biometrics as passcodes. :|

 

[ReaderBot]

This is why I still use Veracrypt.