What if GrayKey Was In Breaking Bad?

Breaking Bad, a bold drama about a dying high school teacher who starts cooking crystal meth, premiered on January 20, 2008, and singlehandedly ushered in what many would come to call the golden era of television. The show became a cultural phenomenon. And yet, we can’t help but wonder if Walter White’s transformation into a ruthless drug lord (and Breaking Bad’s ascension to the top of television) would’ve been cut short if a solution like GrayKey was available to Albuquerque law enforcement during the fictional series.

Mobile devices played an important role in Breaking Bad. In season two, it was White’s anesthesia-induced reference to a “second cell phone” – the one he used to deal his signature blue meth under the alias Heisenberg – that made Skyler, his wife, suspicious and ultimately led to her uncovering his numerous lies and leaving him. However, as fans of the show know, Skyler didn’t turn her estranged husband into the police or reveal his identity to her DEA Agent brother-in-law, Hank. Hank was a competent agent and led a year-long investigation into the meth kingpin, Heisenberg, unaware that the man he was hunting was the alter-ego of his brother-in-law all along.

Towards the end of the series, during his investigation, Hank received threatening phone calls, planted bugs, and tried to gather and analyze GPS data. But it was a quote in a book that led to Hank putting two and two together about his brother-in-law; not a trail of digital evidence that was seemingly never even considered as part of the show’s writing. This was especially frustrating to fans after Hank intercepts a voicemail and text message both confirming Walt’s identity as the man behind the blue meth.

What if Hank had a GrayKey?

Could Hank have apprehended his brother-in-law, lawfully seized his mobile devices, and used GrayKey to obtain extractions from those devices to identify numerous nefarious messages between the meth kingpin and his associates? Ultimately, saving his own life, and countless others, by putting White/Heisenberg behind bars? According to a recent survey of GrayKey customers who were asked how quickly they were able to extract critical evidence or data using GrayKey for iOS, 41% of respondents said it took an hour or less. Similarly, if GrayKey users were working to extract critical evidence or data from an Android device, 30% of respondents said they were successful the same day they began the process.

So, hypothetically, if Hank had a GrayKey and was able to lawfully seize and obtain a warrant to search White’s mobile device(s) when he realized that he was Heisenberg, he could have had all the critical evidence he needed in as few as 24 hours to nail his case. Unfortunately, we’ll never know what alternate ending could’ve awaited us in the final season of Breaking Bad if law enforcement had a GrayKey to assist with their narcotics investigation (other than the series coming to a screeching halt). But we do know the impact it can have today.

GrayKey empowers law enforcement professionals to streamline your narcotics caseload with same-day access to digital evidence. As of December 2021, 86% of surveyed law enforcement indicated that they use GrayKey to assist in narcotics cases. (TVID: DCF-EA6-CEC). It’s a must-have for your forensic toolkit. Don’t just take our word for it. A Digital Forensics Investigator at a federal government would be very likely to recommend GrayKey for this reason:

“There are not many tools on the market able to provide the service that GrayKey provides, and I consider it a must-have in the forensic toolkit for mobiles. Furthermore, I’m happy with the customer support. Every time I have needed it, I received a quick response.” (TVID: C6F-C36-F4C).

Speaking of support, if you’re interested in learning more about the support you receive as a Grayshift customer, check out these recent posts about the Customer Success team:

When it comes to narcotics investigations, mobile devices often contain critical information crucial to your case. This information, once accessed by GrayKey, can be beneficial and become evidence. Evidence that leads to the truth. Download our latest eBook, Access to the Truth Vol.2, and read real-life GrayKey stories from the field.

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