At least 2,000 law enforcement agencies have tools to get into encrypted smartphones, according to new research, and they are using them far more than previously known.

Can police access an encrypted phone?

Android has a version of “Complete Protection” that applies before the first unlock. After that, the phone data is essentially in the AFU state. … Forensic tools exploiting the right vulnerability can grab even more decryption keys, and ultimately access even more data, on an Android phone.

Can police crack Android password?

Police in all 50 states are using secret tools to break into locked phones — and they’re using them for cases as low-level as shoplifting, records show. More than 2,000 police departments across all 50 states have purchased high-tech tools that can crack into locked, encrypted smartphones, according to a new report.