“Former antivirus developer and presidential wannabe John McAfee claimed a couple of weeks ago to have the perfect solution to the FBI-Apple stand-off. He offered to crack the iPhone for the FBI for free,” Peter Bright reports for Ars Technica. “This would let the government agency gain access to the phone while freeing Apple from any demands to assist. So confident was McAfee of his ability to help out that he said he’d eat a shoe on TV if he couldn’t get into the phone.”
“It will probably not come as much of a surprise to anyone to learn that the FBI has not been beating down McAfee’s door,” Bright reports. “In an interview with Russia Today in which he is unironically introduced as a ‘cybersecurity legend’ and currently running to be nominated as the presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party (an association that frankly does neither party any favors), he outlined the real technique that he’d use to crack the phone, and it turns out to be a super convenient ‘half hour job.’ McAfee only said it’d take three weeks because he didn’t want to have to eat his shoe if a cold or flu interrupted him.”
“Given the simplicity of this approach one might well wonder why the FBI hasn’t done this already. The answer turns out to be straightforward: as some of our more astute readers may have noticed, it’s a load of drivel,” Bright writes. “What he’s proposing isn’t just wrong; it’s not even in the same zip code as the truth.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: How about baked, John? Grilled?
SEE ALSO:
John McAfee reveals how the FBI can unlock an iPhone in 30 minutes – March 2, 2016
John McAfee blasts FBI for ‘illiterate’ order to create Apple iPhone backdoor – February 23, 2016
Libertarian U.S. presidential candidate John McAfee offers to unlock terrorist’s iPhone for FBI – February 19, 2016Can the FBI force a company to break into its own products? No, says U.S. Magistrate – March 2, 2016
FBI Director Comey now claims ‘mistake made’ in changing San Bernadino terrorist’s Apple ID password – March 1, 2016
U.S. Congress likely to side with Apple vs. FBI in iPhone unlocking fight – March 1, 2016
Why did the FBI direct the San Bernardino Health Department to reset Syed Farook’s Apple ID? – February 22, 2016
Turing Award winners advocate for encryption; back Apple vs. U.S. government overreach – March 1, 2016
Mark Cuban: Why Apple must win vs. the FBI; in the United States of America, we have rights – March 1, 2016
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch plays disinformation card in iPhone unlocking fight – March 1, 2016
The FBI’s case against Apple got kneecapped in Brooklyn: The judges rebuke couldn’t have been stronger – March 1, 2016
U.S. Magistrate Judge: The U.S. government cannot force Apple to unlock an iPhone in New York drug case – February 29, 2016/blockquote>
It appears that McAfee is taking lessons in BS from the Republican frontrunner.
We all know who john McAfee is but does anyone know who is Peter Bright?
What exactly are his credentials?
He seems pretty lost to me!
So, your logic is:
“if a person is famous, they must be smart”
and:
“if a person is not famous, they must not be smart”?
So, if the converse if that second proposition is also true, then we can safely assume that you are not famous. Got it.
What I’m saying is what the author says about John McAfee and the hacking technic to gain access to the iPhone is WRONG!
So, you really should consider it just another BS article.
I didn’t bother explaining because I’m quite sure your not smart enough to understand!
Have a great day.
Ooo! Tell us what you know about John McAfee! I’ll bet we can follow. Does it involve him being famous? Writing code 20 years ago and since then just being a professional loose cannon?
Here’s Apple’s paper on iOS 9 security. If you know how to comprehend what it says and can manage to combine that with what John McAfee said, you should be able to see that he was spouting nonsense based on not knowing how the tech in the iPhone actually works.
Click to access iOS_Security_Guide.pdf
Enjoy! I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure it out.
I like your answer … at least you’re giving it a try (more than most would do)!
First off, the author misquoted McAfee by saying:
“The core claim, the part on which everything else hinges, is that there is a location on the iPhone’s flash storage (or perhaps RAM; he uses “memory” pretty interchangeably for both) that contains a plaintext, readable copy of the device’s PIN, and that iOS compares the PIN typed in to this stored value.”
This is absolutely false!
Secondly, the author claims the following:
“the most plausible method for decrypting the San Bernardino iPhone without Apple’s assistance involves manually inspecting the handset’s processor using acid and lasers.”
This second assertion constitutes one method but certainly not the “most plausible method” as he claims!
There are other much better methods to achieve the objective without the cost, complexity and risks associated with the “acid-laser” technic.
Anything else you want to know?
Ummm… I saw that movie with Nicholas Cage, where her stole the liberty bell…. No wait, it was the Declaration of Indiana Jones. Anyway, he broke into the secret room where they kept the map (it had a map on it) and he got in by rubbing a powdered donut over the pin pad and wherever the sugar stuck to the keys, was the digits that made up the passcode. I think this is what McAfee was really thinking he could do…..(National Treasure! – movie was National Treasure!)
As if the Dem front runner hasn’t been shoveling it for her entire life.
It was a video. They were all tramps. It’s a vast right-wing conspiracy. Ad infinitum.
Grilled might be more apt
Deep fried would make it crispy and a lot more chewable.
Hmm. I’d steam it first, then either grill it, broil it or fry it. Crispy outside, tender inside.
Ever make beer can chicken? The beer steams is from the outside, and the oven/grill makes the skin nice and crispy. I recommend that as a way to get the best flavor out of that shoe… Plus… Beer! And beer is always good 🙂
Of course I meant the beer steams it from the inside…
/edit
So in other words, McAfee is a goofball wackadoodle.
——RM
As long as you don’t take him to seriously, McAfee is a hoot to watch.
I have the task of calling the McAfee Service Desk when one of our customer has an issue…
“Welcome to the McAfee Service Desk, please choose from the following options:
For McAfee Anti Virus, press 1
For McAfee IPS, press 2
For McAfee Anti Spyware, press 3
For McAfee ePo, press 4,
For McAfee IDS, press 5
For McAfee Internet Security, press 6
For McAfee LiveSafe, press 7
For McAfee Total Protection, press 8,
He likes the sound of his own name. Weirdo.
Well, Intel does own McAfee software. Apparently, Intel likes the sound of McAfee’s name, or figures WE like the sound… 😛
Hey, if he takes the heat off Apple, do we really care what his brains are made of?
McAfee might well be able to break into Android phones in 30 minutes.
But he shouldn’t just assume that know-how will translate to iPhones.
McAfee: Gone a bit mental. (o_0) (0_o)