A few have written in with questions about the latest version of the “Zdziarski” method of iPhone forensic recovery, which is used in the automated tools available free to law enforcement agencies worldwide. This is a quick rundown of the most frequently asked questions.
Q. Does this method “jailbreak” the device?
No. In fact, the latest method has an extremely lightweight footprint and the device will boot back into its normal operating mode once the imaging process is complete. The latest methods do not rewrite the operating system, do not patch the NOR, do not patch the kernel, do not grant the examiner access to the device, and do not require a system restore. All of the available automated forensic tools on this site have been updated to use these new methods. The new technique does not even use the 24KPWN exploit, widely touted by the hacking community.