Today in TechThe FBI fails to break through a pimp’s Android pattern lock, serves Google warrant
If you're dubious about Android's pattern lock ability to safeguard the contents of your phone or tablet, know this: it has recently proven to be a tough nut to crack even for the FBI. The feds had to serve Google a warrant to unlock the phone of a pimp suspected of violating his parole.
The suspect, Dante Dears, used to run an operation in San Diego called Pimpin' Hoes Daily (PHD) until he was convicted and locked up in 2005. When he got out in 2009, authorities tethered him to a GPS monitor so he couldn't go on the streets to continue what he used to do. But Dears found a way to outwit his parole officers — he used an Android phone to run his business from the comforts of his own home.
The FBI, having suspected that he's been behind a prostitution ring all this time even without leaving his house, sent a source to monitor his actions. In spite of the fact that the source had seen him using the phone in his house for as long as six hours at a time, Dears denied that the phone was his. He refused to draw the pattern needed to go through Android's security measure, even though his parole conditions stated that he couldn't lock any of his digital files.
[Image credit: Robert Bejil]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
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