A federal judge has ordered a public iPhone exploit, known as usbliter8, to be taken offline. Magnet Forensics claims the exploit is a stolen trade secret, not independent security research. U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert directed Paradigm Shift and former Magnet engineer Mario Del Gaudio to delete all related materials by July 23.

Magnet's complaint alleges that usbliter8, which targets A12 and A13 Secure ROM, originated from a confidential capability developed internally. They contend Del Gaudio acquired this technique while employed by Magnet and later shared it through Paradigm Shift. The exploit requires physical access and DFU mode to execute unsigned code before the operating system starts, making it relevant for forensic investigations.

The dispute raises questions about whether companies should keep zero-day vulnerabilities secret for forensic use or disclose them. While Paradigm Shift claims they informed Apple before publishing, the court's preliminary injunction aims to prevent further harm and limit Paradigm Shift's promotional use of the research, though the central trade-secret question remains unresolved.