Security News > 2020 > October > New Report on Police Decryption Capabilities

There is a new report on police decryption capabilities: specifically, mobile device forensic tools.

This report documents the widespread adoption of MDFTs by law enforcement in the United States.

Based on 110 public records requests to state and local law enforcement agencies across the country, our research documents more than 2,000 agencies that have purchased these tools, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

At least 49 of the 50 largest U.S. police departments have the tools, according to the records, as do the police and sheriffs in small towns and counties across the country, including Buckeye, Ariz.; Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Walla Walla, Wash.

Local law enforcement agencies that don't have such tools can often send a locked phone to a state or federal crime lab that does.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/10/new-report-on-police-decryption-capabilities.html