[Exclusive] The drug chief’s 22-digit iPhone password was cracked, a persistent police officer finally cracked it

In January last year, a request for video analysis was received from Inspector Shim Gap-yong of the Chungbuk Police Agency’s forensic investigation unit. It was a video showing the head of a drug organization unlocking his iPhone password. However, the video quality was poor, so it was impossible to tell which number the commander had pressed. The word ‘unreadable’ crept into Inspector Shim’s mind as he was at a loss for this type of work he had never encountered before.

However, I quickly changed my mind and devoted myself to analysis for two weeks, using all the techniques I had acquired. First, he used a 3D distortion correction technique to correct the position values ​​in the video. Next, the keypad of the same model as the iPhone used by the leader was extracted and added to the video. At the same time, it is said that the keypad area was restored to be faint after undergoing work to improve image quality. The password read in that way is a whopping 22 digits long. When I sent the analysis report to the investigator, the numbers matched. Inspector Shim said, “I wondered if this would happen, but I was dumbfounded.”

Unlock iPhone password through video analysis

Afterwards, the investigation proceeded smoothly. Evidence of the crime poured out from the leader’s iPhone, and it played a decisive role in arresting other gang members. Based on this, the North Chungcheong Police Agency’s drug investigation unit detained and sent 9 people, including 6 members of the group including the general manager, and 3 habitual drug users, and sent 25 drug users without detention. The group was found to have smuggled drugs, such as Philopon and Ketamine, into cosmetic containers for about eight months starting in August 2023 from overseas. The market value of the confiscated drugs reached 1.45 billion won.

In recognition of his contribution to solving the case, Inspector Shim received the grand prize in the police scientific investigation field at the ‘77th Annual Scientific Investigation Day’ ceremony hosted by the National Police Agency on the 4th. He joined the force in 1999 at the recommendation of Inspector Cheon Kwang-hee (currently Chief of Security Intelligence at Siheung Police Station), whom he met while serving as a conscripted police officer. In order to properly photograph on-site evidence, I learned to use a DSLR camera as a hobby, but after taking my first steps into forensic investigation in 2003, I pursued a single career.

He has already performed difficult video analysis several times. Inspector Shim selected the ‘night stabbing video’ commissioned in 2023 as a memorable analysis. In the video, a voice could be heard shouting, “I was stabbed,” but the stabbing scene was not visible because the screen was dark. The knife presumed to be the weapon of the crime had disappeared. Inspector Shim succeeded in restoring the scene where the suspect was holding a sharp weapon in his hand by filling in the broken pixels. In the same year, the smoking scene was proven by improving the quality of a low-resolution video of two suspects in a forest fire in Okcheon-gun, North Chungcheong Province.

Inspector Shim, now 48 years old, does not hesitate to read at night to learn about the ever-advancing science and technology. He entered the Department of Forensic Science at Chungnam National University and received a master’s degree on the topic of ‘Integrity of Digital Video Evidence’ in 2022. Inspector Shim said, “Looking back at the past, there were many incidents that left me with regret and thought, ‘If only I had a little more skill, I could have caught the criminal.’” He added, “I also want to pursue a doctoral degree in the future.” With the belief that ‘the truth is proven through science,’ he said, “I will continue to implement transparent scientific investigations that leave no doubt at the forefront.”

https://n.news.naver.com/article/025/0003482059