this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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358
FBI Couldn’t Get into WaPo Reporter’s iPhone Because It Had Lockdown Mode Enabled (www.404media.co)
submitted 7 hours ago by tonytins@pawb.social to c/technology@lemmy.world
85 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The FBI has been unable to access a Washington Post reporter’s seized iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode, a sometimes overlooked feature that makes iPhones broadly more secure, according to recently filed court records.

The court record shows what devices and data the FBI was able to ultimately access, and which devices it could not, after raiding the home of the reporter, Hannah Natanson, in January as part of an investigation into leaks of classified information. It also provides rare insight into the apparent effectiveness of Lockdown Mode, or at least how effective it might be before the FBI may try other techniques to access the device.

“Because the iPhone was in Lockdown mode, CART could not extract that device,” the court record reads, referring to the FBI’s Computer Analysis Response Team, a unit focused on performing forensic analyses of seized devices. The document is written by the government, and is opposing the return of Natanson’s devices.

Archive: http://archive.today/gfTg9

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[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Having it and it working as well are two different things. historically Apple has been ahead in security that can slow down or stop law enforcement. And before before you jump to the same conclusions as someone else, I never have owned an iPhone, nor wanted to.

[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

That's incorrect. Google's Android has several industry leading security features the iPhone doesn't support.

[–] Analog@lemmy.ml 2 points 49 minutes ago (1 children)

That’s… not what they said.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 2 points 42 minutes ago* (last edited 42 minutes ago) (1 children)

There's a lot of copium in this thread. Joke is I've been pretty hardcore Android since day one, I have never owned an iPhone. I am just capable of some level of objectivity. Shit, there's podcasts out there from early in the Android v iOS days where I was the token Android guy defending it as the IBM compatible equivalent of its day. Telling these hard core iPhone guys that Apple would lose the market share fight worldwide because of the closed nature, the same way they lost it on the desktop. But yeah, there's people here denouncing me as an Apple fanboy because I was capable of complimenting a strength it has.

[–] Analog@lemmy.ml 2 points 39 minutes ago

Keep doing it. They all have strengths and suckiness at the same time.