Several reports show that one hacker going by the pseudonym "xerub" managed to decrypt Apple's Secure Enclave Processor firmware (SEP) and published the decryption key on Thursday.
Secure Enclave Processor (SEP) is a feature on the A7 chipset that powers the iPhone 5, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, and iPad mini 3 as well as any Apple A series processor.
It is capable of managing its functions touch ID, the cryptographic functions of the Apple Watch Series 2 smartwatch, password authentication, and other security-related processes.
SEP is encrypted by the design and is completely isolated, which means it can not be tampered with.
“The processor forwards the data to Secure Enclave but cannot read it. They are encrypted and validated with a session key negotiated using the device's shared key provided for the Touch ID sensor and Secure Enclave, ”says Apple.
The decryption key will not allow hackers to access stored data.
Ο hacker ανακοίνωσε στο λογαριασμό του στο Twitter ότι κατάφερε να αποκρυπτογραφήσει το Secure Enclave Processor firmware (SEP) της Apple χρησιμοποιώντας τη βιβλιοθήκη img4lib, η οποία μπορεί να ασχοληθεί με αρχεία img4, μαζί με ένα εργαλείο διαίρεσης του SEP firmware που σχεδιάστηκε για τη διεκπεραίωση των αποκρυπτογραφημένων files.
Both tools were developed by the hacker and are available on GitHub for security researchers who want to try to decrypt Apple's SEP firmware to find vulnerable points. However, these tools will not allow them to access the data stored in the SEP.
Below you can see the security architecture diagram of Apple's iOS mobile operating system to understand how it works system his security. The hacker stated that the decryption key is “fully developed” and that you can download the required tools from the links below.
key is fully grown https://t.co/MwN4kb9SQI use https://t.co/I9fLo5Iglh to decrypt and https://t.co/og6tiJHbCu to process
- ~ (@xerub) August 16