To want to know if he hacked my iphone

[loandbehold24]

I'm currently going through a contentious child custody battle, with a coercively controlling abusive exhusband.

Over Christmas his communication changed. I can't go into revealing details, but on countless occasions he knew things that he could not possibly have know (unless he had been listening to my private conversations, with different people in lots of different places). I began to suspect my phone had been hacked.

I noticed the following

• Unusual log in to my gmail (a log in on a phone model that I do not possess)
• Emails being mysteriously deleted (that portrayed him in negative light)
• Unusual app on my phone that I didn't download
• App permissions on my phone had all changed (microphone and camera turned on for every app)
• Battery draining within an hour and phone often felt very hot
• Data Use soared, (25GB used in 3 days when I had just been using my phone for whatsapp, camera and spotify

I am now convinced my phone has been hacked but need to find a way to prove it. I've contacted apple but they just send me articles on phishing.

Does anyone know of a cyber security expert in London, who can scan my phone for malware?

If he has hacked my phone, the invasion of privacy is enormous (13000 photos, access to emails, location history, etc) He will know my strategy for court and have such an edge.

Any advice very much appreciated.

Contact your solicitor for advice before you take the phone anywhere.

I have gotten advice.

It would be helpful to my case to prove if he's hacked my phone. That's why I'm looking for a cybersecurity expert.

The solicitor should be able to recommend somewhere suitable for evidential purposes.

unless he has involved a ££££ Israeli security service, he hasn’t hacked your iPhone. You can’t just ‘hack’ an iPhone. The iPhone would need to not be updated to the latest iOS update, and would need serious expensive tech to be broken into. He wouldn’t be able to just take it into a dodgy phone shop and ‘hack’ it.

If he knows your password, yes he might have been on it.

The FBI can’t even just ‘hack’ someone’s phone so I seriously doubt your ex has

That's not true, it's very possible to remotely access someones phone.

The police can investigate this, it's a crime.

Hacking of devices isn’t something easily doable by a mere mortal.

What does the phone say used the 25gb of data in 3 days?

Androids perhaps, but apple devices are much more secure.

He has guessed your password, not ‘hacked’ your phone.

Can you do a factory reset?

And change all your passwords!

Whenever I get a new ihine there's the option to set up using an iCloud back up and if he (or anyone) knows your Apple ID password I wonder if it's possible he's done that and set a phone up using your own iCloud back up. I don't know if it's still possible but I'm sure there's also a way tj add any installed apps to other phones using the same Apple account.

Messages the same. All my imessages go to all my devices because I have it set that way.

If you use gmail there also used to be ways to track Google searches and locations as well as accessing emails.

Have you logged into iCloud? It should show you all the devices linked to your AppleID and its location.

Some apps have a "sign out on all devices" option. I'd spend a few hours logging into everything and selecting that option and changing your passwords for everything. A lot of people use their kids names, pets names, years of birth if you do this I'd change everything to be more complex and different for every single app.

what is the "Unusual app on my phone that I didn't download"

Very very very very unlikely with an iPhone

Hacking per se, as in compromising your actual iPhone OS, probably not.

However, the things you have listed could be indicative of him having downloaded spy software onto your phone.

Has he had access to your phone (it might have been in place for a long time, if he's controlling), does he know your passwords etc?

Does your phone sync to any other devices? Have you checked in case additional syncs have been set up?

Have you downloaded anything (documents, attachments etc) that looked innocuous but could have been malware?

If you can afford it, buying a new phone would probably be simplest to avoid the issue, then you can have your current phone looked into, whilst knowing that you are secure day to day.

Also, change all your passwords to something he would not be able to guess, and set up 2 factor authentication on everything that's possible.

If he's been in your house, it's also not so difficult to spoof the WiFi, so you might want to change your WiFi passwords, and double check that the WiFi network you think you are on is in fact the right one.
I note you said it's happened in lots of different places, so this is less likely, but still probably worth checking.

You sound reasonably clued up, so hopefully you've already taken a lot of these actions.

The kind of search terms you're looking for are going to be things like

"Digital forensics for cyber crime"
"Digital forensics for phone hacking"

There are lots of options on Google - you'd need to do your research, and it is probably reasonably pricey, but there are certainly companies out there who do undertake that kind of work, and undoubtedly some of them will be experienced in also preparing reports on their findings suitable for court proceedings.

Maybe test your allies for leaks too. Could someone you trust be leaking information to him? Do a Wagatha Christie if there's anyone you're a little suspicious about and feed them a fake story then see if it gets back to him.

Speak to the police and see what their advice is.

If there is evidence of spy software they may be able to prove its him and help you with advice on restraining orders. Your solicitor will then be able to advise on how any prosecutions may help you custody case.

In practical terms, factory reset and change passwords after you've spoken to police.

• Unusual app on my phone that I didn't download

Well...that's your starting point. What is it called? Find out about what it does then uninstall (not delete, do a proper uninstall).

Then change all your app settings and account passwords. Forward your incriminating emails to another brand new email.

Change the phone password/pin so only you can access it.

When you noticed a weird device had logged into your email you surely changed your password?

He might have guessed your password but you were told a device accessed your emails so you could have stopped it there and then.

When you seen the emails deleted what did you do about it?

You don't need a cyber security expect. You can check the devices that have access to your email in two minutes.

To hack an iphone, as in crack it open without the password, is extremely difficult, perhaps impossible.

BUT that doesn’t mean he hasn’t accessed it. My guess is that he somehow got hold of your apple ID and password, perhaps via the details being stored on a shared computer or iCloud or even by putting a secret camera somewhere that saw you log on.

Change all of your passwords and user IDs right now, and consider doing that outdoors if there’s any risk of a spy camera inside. Probably buy a new phone.

Consider this, also… If he is reading your messages and doesn’t know that you know that, you can leave false info there eg notes on a fake legal strategy, to mess with him… 👀

My device is synching to somewhere different that I didn't set up.

A message says "Your data is ready to be moved to your new iphone, but some apps aren't included. You can change this in iCloud settings. Your free iCloud storage will expire in 13 days"

So my entire iCloud backed up somewhere new 18 days ago. I definitely didn't perform this back up as I was abroad with no data left.

I think he guessed the password to my email first and got into my iCloud from there. I have changed all passwords now and set up dual factor authentication. I've bought a second android phone that I'm using for the most part.

However, if he has gotten 4 years worth of pictures, locations , messages etc and accessed my emails - this is a gross invasion of privacy. The most worrying part is he'll be forewarned (and forearmed) of my strategy for the child-arrangement proceedings.

The best way forward is to get proof that he's done it that will stand up in court. Thank you to the person who provided the search terms I need to be using.

Usually this threads accusing someone of hacking are tin-foil worthy but OP it does sound like it's possible in your case.

Do you have a solicitor currently dealing with your case as I'm sure they could recommend someone? If not I'd be going straight to the police

I should have added below, I've paid for extra iCLoud storage for two years, so this message is a worry:

"Your data is ready to be moved to your new iphone, but some apps aren't included. You can change this in iCloud settings. Your free iCloud storage will expire in 13 days"

Also, I was out of the country when this backup happened , without any data.

Is a breach of privacy like this worthy of police? I don't want to waste their time.

Thank you for the person who suggested search terms. I've contacted a company called CYFOR who seem to provide the service I need.

Unfortunately, my funds for legal fees are very low for this month. I can't afford to contact my solicitor again for a month or two.

Well done on the detective work.

Cyber crime is treated pretty harshly, so if you do get the evidence, or even without, it may well be worth reporting it to the police, as you now have at least some evidence that he has accessed your info without your consent by setting up an unauthorised sync.

Cyber crimes do often result in jail time...