Cops warned against looking at iPhone X to avoid Face ID lock-out

Police in the US are being instructed on how to handle the X-series of iPhones with documents detailing to avoid looking directly at them.

As part of a new criminal investigation, cops in the US who have seized Apple’s iPhone X and XS devices are being instructed how to handle the phones; with an official document emphasising to avoid direct eye contact with it as they could be locked out permanently.   During a presentation with US police officials, forensics firm Elcomsoft has shown slides that recommend not making eye-contact with iPhones that have Face ID as this can lead to the phones being locked up forever.   As per a report by Motherboard, under the Fifth Amendment, suspects have the right to refuse to divulge their passwords. With Face ID, the biometric system will allow for five different failed facial scans after which a user is obliged to enter their passcode. To avoid using up all five attempts, police officers shouldn’t waste the face unlock attempts by looking at the iPhone.   Speaking about this, Elcomsoft CEO Vladimi Katalov claims that by not handling the latest generation iPhones in an appropriate manner could lead to what happened during the 2017 iPhone X keynote where Apple’s Craig Federighi was forced to enter the passcode to unlock the device instead of getting his face scanned during the demo.   Elaborating on this, Katalov said, “This is quite simple. The passcode is required after five unsuccessful attempts to match a face. So by looking into suspect’s phone, [the] investigator immediately lose one of [the] attempts. With Touch ID, you have to press the button (or at least touch it); that’s why we always recommend (on our training) to use the power button instead, e.g to see whether the phone is locked. But with Face ID, it is easier to use ‘accidentally’ by simply looking at the phone.” 

Source: Deccan Chronicle