FBI Director Comey Says iPhone Hack 'Doesn't Work on a 5s' or Newer

The FBI’s new method for unlocking iPhones won’t work on most models, FBI Director Comey said in a speech last night at Kenyon College. “It’s a bit of a technological corner case, because the world has moved on to sixes,” Comey said, in response to a question. “This doesn’t work on sixes, doesn’t work on a 5s. So we have a tool that works on a narrow slice of phones.”

Comey did not elaborate on why the new method did not work on more advanced phones, but it’s very likely related to the Secure Enclave protections that were implemented with the 5s’ A7 chip, present in all subsequent iPhones. If true, that would severely limit the impact of the FBI’s new method.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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