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iPhones might be harder for police to unlock, thanks to new reboot feature

New code introduced in the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system could make it more difficult for both police and thieves to unlock iPhones.

New code introduced in the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system could make it more difficult for both police and thieves to unlock iPhones. 404 Media reported Thursday that law enforcement officials were warning each other that phones being stored for forensic examination seemed to be rebooting themselves — something that security experts confirmed in a follow-up story. Matthew Green, a cryptographer and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, described this as “a huge improvement in terms of security” that “probably doesn’t inconvenience anyone” — though the police might disagree.

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