Another terrain where Android beats Apple with its iPhone. This time it is in the encryption and that must be taken into account for everything related to privacy. And is that forensic detectives claim that Android phones are more difficult to "hack" or "crack" than iPhones.
Right at a time when it is known that the American government has been able to pass as at home through the encryption of the iPhone, as recently announced from Vice. But what does seem that it is increasingly difficult to "get into" some Android phones. And this is the truth that makes us proud to make our phones more valuable.
The iPhone wide open
It is Detective Rex Kiser, who conducts forensic digital examinations for the Fort Worth Police Department, which maintains that a year ago it could not "enter" on an iPhone, but it could do so on all Android phones.
As it cheers right now, now they cannot be inserted in many Android mobiles. According to research carried out by Vice, Cellebrite, one of the most important companies for government agencies when it comes to "cracking" smartphones, has a tool that is capable of opening the doors of any manufactured iPhone, even the iPhone X .
La tool is responsible for collecting data such as GPS records, messages, call history, contacts and even some specific data from apps like Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. With all this information at hand, it is easier for them to follow criminal events and those that are not when a company may need customer data or confidential information; We are not going to be saints either and it is what it is.
With Android much more difficult
That same Cellebrite tool used with Android encryption it is much less successful on reputable terminals. We are talking about the high end. The detective puts, for example, how in devices such as the Google Pixel 2 or the same Samsung Galaxy S9, the tool could not even extract the data from social networks, the browsing history of the browser or those related to GPS. If we go to the Huawei P20 Pro, it can be said that it was not able to extract any data.
The detective himself clarifies that the new updates of Android are more "resistant" when it comes to defending themselves against these attacks to extract data from the mobiles in which they are installed. This makes it very clear how companies are doing their thing so that government agencies have a harder time "penetrating" those phones to extract what they want. So privacy is being taken very seriously for companies like Huawei and Samsung.
It must be said that although let's have one of the latest Android phonesIt has to be made clear that it does not mean that it is totally safe to avoid being "cracked" by these tools. Just because Cellebrite's own isn't working doesn't mean researchers can't extract the data they need. Only that the process can be much more laborious and take more time and resources. And we already know that this means a higher outlay for both the one who hires the services and the one who provides them.
What is clear is that right now the top of the Android range are much safer than the alternative which can be with an iPhone. If you are worried about security, you already know where to go, go for a high-end Android and go through these lines to stay up to date with everything concerning the most installed operating system in the world. What we do recommend is to have your mobile phone updated with the latest security patches, as is the case with Realme phones.