@404.media: 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. @Evy Kwong has more. Head to 404media.co to read more.
404 Media
Region: CA
Wednesday 04 February 2026 21:08:22 GMT
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orion :
EXTREMELY rare apple W
2026-02-05 09:11:58
7621
jono :
apple devices will randomly require pin too. if it detects a police iPhone or station is nearby. that's one of many factors that can result in that weird "use your pin" message even if you haven't typed in your pin wrong or failed faceID/touchID. apple are one of the only companies that did not bend to the FBI to install backdoor exploits
2026-02-05 02:28:42
1564
🍓Lexy🍓 :
so unironically iphone is the most secure device
2026-02-05 15:56:44
2113
Bert :
The fact that the US has started targeting journalists on a large scale really shows that it is moving away from being a democracy. This is very concerning.
2026-02-05 13:56:05
2120
NZ Kiwi and 3,789 Others :
How long until the regime forces Tim Apple to change that feature.
2026-02-04 22:36:09
1480
SHEILA1030 :
Don’t broadcast it .. they’ll remove it with the next update
2026-02-05 21:56:17
678
cassjuly :
Another good reason to keep buying Apple.
2026-02-05 11:46:11
150
allnightergaslighter :
Turn on advanced data protection. It encrypts most iCloud data. Even with a warrant, Apple isn’t able to decrypt iCloud without the key. Making it significantly more difficult to access. This can be a double-edged sword, but it's helpful by discouraging sketchy access and protecting against data leaks.
2026-02-06 06:36:41
21
Kolb✌️ :
Turn off your Face ID and make sure to restart your phone every few days!
2026-02-06 00:28:53
54
chickenfriedsteak40 :
And people still come after Apple acting like they don’t care about privacy. Meanwhile apple is the only phone maker in sold in the US that actually cares
2026-02-05 14:10:23
117
Auroris 🇨🇦 🇵🇸 :
This is an extremely awesome feature in the current political climate. Also weird for apple to care about it, since usually they sell private information to the us government anyway.
2026-02-05 22:24:53
245
/ WHANOS / :
best defence for iOS is a long alphanumeric password (and a modern generation iphone)
2026-02-05 12:12:32
106
Marcya X :
ao the FBI is geting into reporters phones? 😳🥲
2026-02-05 06:20:07
116
marcus_i :
completely buried the lede that the FBI is being politicized to target reporters in their private homes
2026-02-06 03:09:31
10
. :
They definitely have the ability to but probably don’t want to risk revealing it
2026-02-05 14:00:53
10
wyldesdad :
The USA is NOT a democracy anymore. Going after reporters thus hard is a small mustache man move. Elon said it all with his salute.
2026-02-05 23:45:37
50
Chris :
For those on Android, go to settings and search "Advanced Protection" turn it on, reboot the phone. 👍
2026-02-06 00:01:35
14
taylor :
Me in 2020 getting a call from Parson's Corporation and the recruiter leading with "would you like to work on figuring out how to hack the iPhone?" then explaining that the company had been contracted by the FBI to find a hack for the iPhone that would allow them access when it's locked down.
2026-02-05 16:20:05
41
j :
W apple
2026-02-05 15:44:02
15
Doyoulikethetruth :
USA never was about democracy
2026-02-05 18:06:43
18
Nathan Cole :
I'm sorry, even with all this information it still sounds unbelievable. There's no way a built in security option stops the FBI cyber team
2026-02-05 22:58:30
21
Ghost :
pretty sure there's a backdoor exploit on apple...
2026-02-06 06:45:20
5
This one guy :
YES! Apple Lockdown and Samsung Knox are FINALLY GETTING THE Ws THEY DESERVE
2026-02-06 11:09:23
21
softlyproblematic :
sooooooooooo which akp file to download as a samsung user
2026-02-05 15:46:32
15
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