Anyone had success decrypting a password protected iPhone backup?

[Rhino]

Hy peeps.

My workplace (bless them), enforced security certificates on me so I could access work email 'securely'.

During that process, my personal iPhone was backed up and a password was put on it.
A mysterious, 'nobody knows what it is' password.

Now, I didn't realise it had a password on it before I blew my phone away last week to put iOS5 on it.
The update didn't work and I had to do a restore - let's not get into that

I really want to access that backup, but not having any luck.
Tried all manner of password that I would use, at home and work, but to no avail.

Am in the process of trying the Elcomsoft Phone Password Breaker with a brute force attack... but I would like an answer before about 10 years.
Pretty sure I won't give a shit by then.

Anyone come across this before and had success?

[D'Artagnan]

You can't just restore iOS4 and re-sync?

[Rhino]

It wants the password to restore the backup.

[D'Artagnan]

Which is why I'm asking, can't you just restore the standard ios4 file and then re-sync with itunes to get all the data back (as opposed to restoring the passworded backup). I do this all the time and in fact never use the backups.

1. Put the iPhone into Device Firmware Update (or DFU) mode
2. Connect to Itunes
3. Hold down shift while clicking 'Restore'
4. Select the file

Done...

Download the old iOSs from iClarified - iPhone - Where To Download iPhone Firmware Files From

***YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING ON THE PHONE AND WILL NEED TO RE-COPY THEM, THIS INCLUDES PHOTOS, MUSIC, MAIL, APPS etc****

[Murley]

One odd-ball solution I found was using your phone PIN though I think it may not work in your situation. Even Apple Care can't help it seems :/

[Murley]

From here: Need help with *Encrypt iPhone backup* - MacRumors Forums

[Rhino]

D'Art.

By restoring (rather than updating) to iOS5, wouldn't that have blown all my program data, saved games etc out of iTunes?
So, I'd roll back to iOS4, and sync with what?

Cos, if that was all available, wouldn't that have been transferred to my phone now?

Am I missing something?

Murley: Tried that as well Mate (and read that thread - and many others)
Hoping there's a smart fkr on here that can get around it.

[D'Artagnan]

Upgrading to any iOS will wipe the contents of the phone and 'usually' this is restore by syncing with iTunes. iTunes makes a backup (which you can't use) before doing the update. Reverting to another iOS using the method above will also wipe the phone BUT there will be no usable backup so get any photos etc off first. If there's nothing on the phone to start with you can go ahead and do the downgrade but the data will be gone.

Essentially you will have a 'clean' new iOS4 phone and will need to reinstall the apps and music etc. As for games saves, it depends where the 'saves' are saved. i.e. most of mine are saved in Facebook etc so it doesn't matter. But most will be lost.

Another alternative is to search for an older backup on the machine. There may be more stored locally.

HTH

[Rhino]

See, it's the photos and vids that I most want to get back.

Not rolling back to iOS4.

Will they be in the encrypted backup or lost?

[lee]

Stupid thought, it's not an IT password associated with the security certificates or anything? Sounds like if they 'pushed' this setting and a backup happened at the same time, it's some sort of password associated with the various iphone setting deployment methods (via osx server or casper suite).

Sit down with IT and make them try all their passwords in your computer?

[D'Artagnan]

Ahh....in that case, you may be fux0r'd. It's the same point I made above about getting everything off the phone first. If you didn't save everything first, then the backup is your only solution, and considering encryption is meant to be HARD to crack, good luck.

[Rhino]

Lee, I kinda am IT (no formal training but it's the sphere I'm in right now), and thrown everything I have access to at it.

We're using iPhone Configuration Utility...
We've done some testing on it to see when it might have put a password on it, and what might have been chosen, but without luck.

My ICT manager guessed his own, which was a password he used about 5 or 6 iterations ago.
I've tried the same set of passwords (you know, increment the number), but haven't had any success.

As per other threads, tried PINs, my name, work account p/ws, iTunes passwords...

Aaaaaargh! I could fkn kill 'em for imposing the certificate, and ballsing up the backup.

[Rhino]

We're gonna see if we can hack the plist files by copying the password from one that we know into another that we don't know.

MACs seem to give you more direct/open access to the encryption files than PC.

[lee]

I guess you're going to have to sync everything with a mail client for emails/contact/etc, photos onto your pc and redownload what you've lost :/

[Rhino]

We're now thinking it hasn't actually got anything to do with iPCU.

According to my boss's research, it seems to be a pretty common iOS4.3(.2?) problem of randomly attaching passwords to backups...

[Murley]

We're now thinking it hasn't actually got anything to do with iPCU.

According to my boss's research, it seems to be a pretty common iOS4.3(.2?) problem of randomly attaching passwords to backups...

Try your first name then? That's what the other thread suggests...

[Rhino]

done that too

[Murley]

Well that fucking sucks. Try:

Your iTunes account password
"password"
"fuck you"
"whyhaveyoumadeanencryptedfilesohardtocrackyouarse wipe"
Your phone number
Your email address
"iTunes"
"fuck you"

[Falcore]

I think you might be screwed

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