Jan 10, 2024 10:47:00

Chinese authorities announce that they have successfully broken AirDrop's encryption and identified the communication person & also releases a screenshot of the analysis tool

Apple products such as iPhone and Mac are equipped with a feature called '

AirDrop ' that allows you to easily share images and files wirelessly. AirDrop automatically encrypts communication content , but the Beijing City Judicial Bureau has announced that it has succeeded in revealing the phone number and email address of the user who sent the file with AirDrop.

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https://sfj.beijing.gov.cn/sfj/sfdt/ywdt82/flfw93/436331732/index.html

With AirDrop, you can connect devices wirelessly and send and receive files without going through the Internet, so no communication content remains on the Internet. In China, communication content on the Internet is strictly censored , and the exchange of speech and information that is inconvenient for the government is restricted, but by using AirDrop, it is possible to spread various information while avoiding censorship. In fact, in China, content showing a negative attitude towards President Xi Jinping has been spread via AirDrop.

``Anti-Xi Jinping posters'' spread in China via Apple's AirDrop, while thousands of WeChat accounts are suspended after protests demanding the removal of ``dictator and traitor Xi Jinping'' - GIGAZINE

AirDrop has a function that limits communication to only those registered in your contacts. This feature is realized by referring to the ' AirDrop identification information hash, ' which is generated based on the email address and phone number associated with the user's Apple ID. It has been reported that by analyzing the logs recorded in , they were able to successfully determine the phone number and email address of the person communicating.

The specific analysis method is as follows. First, authorities created a ``

Rainbow Table '' that created a database of encrypted values of phone numbers and email addresses. Authorities say they can then analyze the iPhone, extract the encrypted information, and compare it to the rainbow table to determine the caller's phone number and email address. The authorities have also released screenshots of a tool called ``AirDrop Hash Value Conversion Tool''.

After authorities determined the phone number and email address of the AirDrop correspondent, they quickly locked the phone number and email account. It has also been revealed that the police are already using AirDrop analysis information to identify suspects.