Former South Korean president declines to unlock smartphone for probe

A special counsel team investigating former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has encountered a significant obstacle: Yoon’s iPhone remains inaccessible due to robust security features, including a passcode and facial recognition.

The former president is currently under investigation by three independent counsel teams. Earlier this month, one of these teams seized Yoon’s iPhone and sought assistance from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s digital forensics unit to access data on the device. However, investigators have reported little progress, as Yoon has refused to provide the passcode, and the phone’s advanced encryption continues to block entry, Caliber.Az reports via South Korean media.

Smartphones like the iPhone often contain crucial evidence in criminal probes, such as call logs, messages, internet search histories, and location data. When a suspect declines to unlock their device, law enforcement efforts can be severely hampered by the iPhone’s multi-layered security systems.

Apple’s iPhones protect user data with numeric passcodes complemented by biometric authentication like fingerprint or facial recognition. A six-character passcode, which can combine numbers, special characters, and upper- and lowercase letters, can yield up to 56 billion possible combinations. Additionally, iPhones can be configured to erase all data after 10 incorrect passcode attempts, adding further challenges for investigators.

The issue of unlocking iPhones for law enforcement is not new. In 2016, the FBI requested Apple create a backdoor to access the iPhone of a terrorism suspect, but Apple refused, citing user privacy concerns. The FBI subsequently dropped the case after failing to find an alternative solution.

Despite these challenges, some forensic software, such as that developed by Israeli company Cellebrite, can sometimes bypass encryption and unlock devices. It remains unclear whether such technology will be employed in this case or whether investigators will eventually secure access through other means.

By Vugar Khalilov