The Secure Enclave is essentially a hardware security module, in more general terms. The only thing that leaves its boundaries are the results of crypto operations, not the parameters that went into calculating them.
The Secure Enclave is essentially a hardware security module, in more general terms. The only thing that leaves its boundaries are the results of crypto operations, not the parameters that went into calculating them.
I'm going on and on about this because I see no way in which this problem is not down-boil-able to brute-forcing the password the user puts in.
Actually Apple admits this much! They can build a work around! What stops the three-letter-agency from building it?
There must at some point be a complex user entered passphrase if you want to be safe. This can be a fingerprint of course but there is always the 4 letter password/passphrase that is the weak point.
I could be completely wrong, so far I'm not convinced I am.
i believe that 'Hardware Key' refers to the UID. if this is the case, then learning the UID + user passcode gives you the root keys, from which you can decrypt the remaining key hierarchy until you reach the decrypted files.