India might soon be able to hack the iPhone and any other modern smartphone

The iPhone's security can only be described as legendary by now. Especially after the legal battle between the FBI and Apple in the beginning of this year, over unlocking a terrorist's device for the government. Both the FBI and the NSA were unsuccessful in hacking the iPhone in question for several months and it was the private Israeli company Cellebrite that came to law enforcement's rescue.

As far as we know, the privately-owned company is the only one with access to the hacking tech, which can unlock any modern smartphone. But this might be changing soon. According to The Economic Times, the Forensics Science Laboratory in India is negotiating with Cellebrite over the purchase of the same tool the company used to unlock the terrorist's iPhone.

“We are likely to have the technology within a month or so,” a senior FSL official told The Economic Times. “India will become a global hub for cases where law enforcement is unable to break into phones.”

The Indian government official also said that devices running iOS 8 or any later version of Apple's OS are impossible to hack into without this technology. Another FSL employee added that they have worked with Cellebrite before, but now they're looking to buy the “entire tool”.

If the deal goes through, only the forensics labs in Gandhinagar, Western India, will have access to the technology. Any other government agencies that need such services will have to pay a fee to FSL-Gandhinagar.