Cellebrite, the Israeli company renowned for its iPhone cracking tools, has garnered attention following its acquisition of Corellium, a firm celebrated for developing virtual iPhones aimed at security research. This $200 million agreement combines two powerful players in mobile forensics, which may complicate Apple’s attempts to secure iOS.
Corellium’s platform has been vital for ethical hackers and researchers, enabling them to evaluate iOS vulnerabilities without requiring actual devices. Apple had earlier sought to shut down Corellium, asserting that virtualizing iOS represented security threats and violated copyrights. Nevertheless, a court determined in 2020 that Corellium’s implementation of iOS constituted fair use, resulting in a confidential resolution after Apple’s appeal.
Through this acquisition, Corellium’s technology will bolster Cellebrite’s current extraction tools, which are deployed by law enforcement agencies worldwide. The firms are working on a new product named Mirror, intended to generate virtual replicas of confiscated devices, offering clearer evidence for prosecutors in comparison to conventional forensic screenshots.
Chris Wade, Corellium’s founder and now Cellebrite’s CTO, foresees that the integrated tools could also assist in spotting spyware by utilizing AI to detect foreign code within a virtual operating system. Although Apple has grown more open to virtualization, the focus has transitioned from whether iOS should enable it to how effectively Apple can restrict physical access to its devices.
