Overview
- In a late-January court filing, the FBI reported its Computer Analysis Response Team could not extract data from Hannah Natanson’s iPhone 13 because the device was in Lockdown Mode.
- Agents seized multiple devices during a January search tied to charges against contractor Aurelio Perez-Lugones, after investigators had reviewed Signal messages between him and the reporter.
- Search warrants authorized biometric unlocking, and agents had Natanson use her fingerprint to open a MacBook Pro, though a full physical image of that laptop had not yet been obtained.
- The Department of Justice is opposing the return of the seized devices, and it remains publicly unclear whether the iPhone has since been accessed.
- Apple’s Lockdown Mode, introduced in 2022, restricts device connections unless unlocked and limits exploits that digital forensics tools rely on, which experts say can impede data extraction.