Court Tells Ottawa Police to Return Phones After 175 Million Attempts to Crack Passcode

An Ontario court decision has put a cap on how many attempts police can make trying to unlock digital devices belonging to an alleged criminal. The case involved three cell phones that were seized as part of a police investigation into child pornography in October 2022. During the last year, police have tried to unlock the phones to gain access to the account as part of the investigation, the court decision said. “Forensic investigators have tried about 175 million different passcodes in an effort to view the contents of the phones but have had no success,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian Carter wrote....