Russian Security Firm Cracks Blackberry Passwords

Russian corporate security and IT audit software company Elcomsoft released a new version of its Phone Password Breaker last week that has the ability to recover the passwords of Blackberry smartphones. Data protection on Blackberry devices was considered to be insuperable, but password recovery is possible using Elcomsoft’s technology if the “Device password” security option is enabled – as it is the case by default with Blackberry devices offering this option.

Elcomsoft claims its solutions are designed for forensic access to the protected devices as well as to assist users who have lost their passwords. The company recognises it cannot fully guarantee that its Phone Password Breaker will not be used for illegitimate purposes if it falls into the wrong customer’s hands.

“Such use is very unlikely, however,” Elcomsoft’s Marketing and Sales Director Olga Koksharova told East-West Digital News.

Physical access necessary

The company identifies the appropriate customers for its most sensitive software products. “Moreover, our newest product, the iOS Forensic Toolkit, is sold exclusively to government bodies and companies as well as to their contractors and auditing companies under strict contracts,” Koksharova explained.

On the practical side, physical access to the device or its memory card is necessary. This considerably limits the risks of access to user data, given that users who lose their device can usually activate a remote control procedure that includes the possibility of deleting all data.

“Password and data pirates tend to use social engineering methods, for example, rather than technological solutions like ours,” Koksharova added.

Established in 1990, Moscow-headquartered Elcomsoft provides software for recovery passwords for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Blackberry smartphones and tablets, various Microsoft applications and other encrypted data. The company claims its products are used by most of the Fortune 500 corporations, multiple branches of the military all over the world, governments, and all major accounting companies.

Source:  East West Digital News the international resource on Russian IT industries.