You are performing a forensic analysis on a cell phone. You have tried entering the PUK 6 times, all incorrectly. What does this mean for John's investigation?

You are performing a forensic analysis on a cell phone. You have tried entering the PUK 6 times, all incorrectly. What does this mean for John's investigation?

• A. The SIM is permanently locked
• B. You can try the PUK 3 more times before the device is locked
• C. Nothing; you can try the PUK 9 times before factory reset on the 10th
• D. The phone will be restored to factory settings after the 7th attempt

Answer: (C)

The key idea is how the PUK (Personal Unblocking Key) works: it protects the SIM by giving you a limited number of attempts to unblock it after the PIN has been entered incorrectly too many times. The scenario here implies there is a final threshold (the 10th attempt) after which a drastic action—in this quiz’s wording, a factory reset—would occur. Since you’ve already tried six times, there are still many chances left before that limit is reached. This means nothing has wiped the phone or its data yet, and the investigation can continue with the device accessible, aside from any loss of cellular service if the SIM becomes temporarily unusable. The important takeaway is that PUK attempts are finite and do not automatically erase the device; you still have the opportunity to unlock the SIM before reaching the final threshold.

The key idea is how the PUK (Personal Unblocking Key) works: it protects the SIM by giving you a limited number of attempts to unblock it after the PIN has been entered incorrectly too many times. The scenario here implies there is a final threshold (the 10th attempt) after which a drastic action—in this quiz’s wording, a factory reset—would occur. Since you’ve already tried six times, there are still many chances left before that limit is reached. This means nothing has wiped the phone or its data yet, and the investigation can continue with the device accessible, aside from any loss of cellular service if the SIM becomes temporarily unusable. The important takeaway is that PUK attempts are finite and do not automatically erase the device; you still have the opportunity to unlock the SIM before reaching the final threshold.