- cross-posted to:
- hackernews@lemmy.bestiver.se
- cross-posted to:
- hackernews@lemmy.bestiver.se
The iPhone versus Android battle has just taken a sudden twist as hackers attack smartphones.
Archived version: https://archive.is/20251130104350/https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2025/11/30/israels-idf-bans-android-to-stop-hackers-iphones-mandatory/
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
I legitimately don’t see the link you’re referring to, I’m not pretending about anything.
Maybe it’s not federating on my end, could you link it?
Cellebrite struggles with iPhones, and some newer Android devices. Is it another company?
You’re getting awfully vitriolic about this discussion, I’m not sure if you’re unfamiliar with the concept of tech tribalism but this is it basically to a T.
Again, use whatever device you want. My experience informs my anecdote which has you so upset.
Lol it’s exactly cellebrite. Maybe don’t talk up your expertise so much?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-company-says-it-can-break-into-all-iphones-ever-made-some-androids/
Not sure if you blocked this user for proving you wrong in the past or what but it’s right there in the thread.
Cellebrite is unable to crack the latest versions of iOS. It can break Android, unless the user has GrapheneOS.
https://osservatorionessuno.org/blog/2025/03/a-deep-dive-into-cellebrite-android-support-as-of-february-2025/#the-february-2025-support-matrix
https://www.androidheadlines.com/2025/10/cellebrite-leak-raises-alarms-are-pixel-phones-really-hackable.html
Company makes claims they are unable to back up in real world scenarios, I have a professional relationship with cellebrite and access to their latest forensics kit they export.
It doesn’t open iPhones.
Occasionally THEY open iPhones, but we’ve had to send them to cellebrite and we are convinced they’ve found a novel way to break the lockout rather than the actual lock. It’s believed to be a brute force. And I’ve never had it work.
But yes. They claim that, but haven’t backed it up practically.
Christ that article is from 2019. That information is so old. They were opening old iPhones with a public exploit that Apple patched in 2019.
AND that claim was only about the iPhone X and older devices which they had a boot loader exploit for.
More recently leaked Cellebrite slide decks claim the exact opposite.
Ok. Maybe you’re right about all of that. I would have no way of knowing. Just like I still have no way of knowing that you’re right about android security. From many things I’ve read over the years, I’d lean toward iOS being less secure. But even if I never read any of that, it logically just wouldn’t add up that one platform would be much more secure than the other. I do know that they’ve been marketing themselves as all about privacy and security and that’s easily seen to be a pack of lies from light-years away. So given that I’m back to assuming they probably are less secure if anything.
Go read what graphene OS has to say about iOS then.
Or. Don’t make such assertive claims that you can’t actually back up or refute, as you’ve just admitted. 🤷
One thing you never hear about is a ring of criminals brought down because they were using iPhones, or a terrorist cell tracked with their iPhones. Part of it is socioeconomic BUT that also informs where threat actors operate.
Yes, you know the Dunning Kruger effect which states that if someone admits to not knowing everything, that shows weakness. Whereas someone claiming to know it all? Well they’re clearly omnipotent.
Iphones are trash. Zero reason to believe they’re more secure, and I doubt you’ll convince anyone otherwise. The commenter you claim not to see made a good point. Israel banned Android phones because they want to reliably spy on the IDF to prevent leaks. Not to help the IDF keep their data secure lol
But the article is specifically saying they are forcing iphones because they are more locked down and less susceptible to compromise. And yes, we don’t know if they’re lying. However, the commenter just linked an unrelated article about celebrite’s claim about cracking an iphone. That doesn’t mean they are connected, and that doesn’t mean Android isn’t less compromisible. Breaking into an iphone also isn’t equivalent to spying. Besides, if they actually want to actively monitor those phones, they would have people use officially-issued phones with MDM on them, and that negates any kind of security ios or android promises.
I’ve taken some device forensics classes albeit not as deep into smartphones like the person you’re arguing with, but I do think they have some merit with their argument.
They’re also saying this is only for official use, so they should have access to the devices via MDM.
This doesn’t ban personal devices being Android.
The person who is arguing with me is just on an anti Apple knee jerk
If anything, MDM will be harder to break on a (non-jailbroken) iphone vs android. So it will technically be harder for someone to block any spying. So in that scenario, both sides of the argument you are in come out right. lol
My point is that I don’t think apple is more secure. They’re probably similar but given apple wants me to believe they are super secure and private, they probably are telling me that for a self serving reason which needs to be said because it specifically is not true. I see no reason to believe them at all. I definitely disagree with you about not knowing if the Israeli government is lying. Pretty safe to say at this point that if they find something important enough to state, it’s almost always going to be a lie.
I mentioned this in another comment, but if in this case the phones are going to be officially issued by the military, then they likely have MDM on them. At that point, it doesn’t really matter anymore what OS you use, they will see everything. No backdoors needed. And it might actually be harder to break MDM monitoring on an iphone vs android, so both sides of the argument you’re in come out as correct.
The point being made counter to you is that your feelings don’t negate security research. You’ve already claimed you have no practical knowledge, no experience, all you’ve done is read some stuff but what you linked to refute me was nearly 7 years old information that was lauded back then in the community.
You don’t like apple, that’s apparent. What actual claims do you have beyond you don’t like apple?
My dude I’m not interested in attempting to have an informed conversation with someone who isn’t informed.
The sunning Kruger effect isn’t when someone who knows what they’re talking about has to refute baseless claims.
Take care, enjoy your vitriol and contempt. You’ve earned it
The apple cult is the second strongest brainwashing campaign of my lifetime. You enjoy that, and I’ll continue shifting to whatever option seems better as time moves forward. Apple will never change for the better, so I can pretty safely say there’s only one known direction I’ll never move in. You enjoy your shitty walled garden of lies.
It’s always fun watching people like you make such hard and fast claims after saying they aren’t being a tribalist.
Your comments are embarrassing for you. Go get informed on mobile security. Cellebrite is well known for providing governments with tools to hack mobile OSes. Posting an article from 6 years ago shows how ill-informed you are on the topic. At least go find the most up to date information.
As someone in tech myself, I’d rather have an iPhone than the average Android phone from a security perspective. If you really care about security and are willing to make some trade offs, use GrapheneOS.
My dude this for official use, they ought to already have MDM on official devices. Thats like saying they want them using a specific phone so they can read the email they administer separately.
I think you’re woefully misunderstanding