Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp 2.02 Fixes iCloud Authentication Issues

In Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp 2.02, ElcomSoft fixes a number of issues starting with the iCloud authentication issue, which resulted in the “Invalid Credentials” error when attempting to access iCloud data. In addition, the new release fixes the issue of accessing iCloud backups produced with iOS 10.3.x and adds support for WhatsApp 2.17.20+. Finally, it fixes the problem of decrypting backups if an incorrect password is supplied.

Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp 2.02 is a hotfix release patching a number of issues discovered in the previous builds. The major hotfix is the patch to “Invalid Credentials” error when accessing iCloud data. This error was a result of server-side changes implemented by Apple to improve authentication security. The fix re-enables customers to access WhatsApp data from the user’s iCloud backups.

The complete change log includes:

  • Fixed iCloud authentication issues
  • Fixed iCloud access issues for backups produced with iOS 10.3+
  • Fixed the processing of iTunes/iCloud backups with restored file names
  • Added support for WhatsApp 2.17.20+ (parsing call logs)
  • Fixed the problem with backup decryption if an incorrect password was supplied
  • Several other bug fixes and UI improvements

The iCloud authentication issue uses the same patch as applied in the recent release of Elcomsoft Phone Breaker. The authentication error was the result of server-side changes that Apple made to improve security of iCloud authentication mechanism. The new authentication scheme employs additional security checks that effectively blocked iCloud access by third-party tools. The fix re-enables access to iCloud backups and synced data via Elcomsoft Phone Breaker.

When acquiring iOS cloud backups, Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp can automatically extract WhatsApp databases from multiple devices registered to the same Apple ID.

Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp offers limited support for WhatsApp stand-alone backups in iCloud Drive. At this time, only media files can be extracted; the rest of the backup is securely encrypted. We are currently working on adding encryption support with no ETA.

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