Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984
A lawyer is suing Apple over FaceTime bug, says it let someone listen in on sworn testimony
A Houston lawyer has filed a lawsuit against Apple over a security vulnerability that let people eavesdrop on iPhones using FaceTime.
The bug went viral on Monday evening after news outlets, including CNBC, verified that one person was able to place a FaceTime video call to another person and, using the exploit, was able to listen in or see video of the recipient of the call, even if they didn't answer. Attorney Larry Williams II says he heard about the bug on or before Sunday.
His lawsuit, filed Monday in Harris County, Texas, alleges that Apple "failed to exercise reasonable care" and that Apple "knew, or should have known, that its Product would cause unsolicited privacy breaches and eavesdropping." It alleged Apple did not adequately test its software and that Apple was "aware there was a high probability at least some consumers would suffer harm."
The suit says that Williams was "undergoing a private deposition with a client when this defective product breached allowed for the recording" of the conversation.
Williams claimed this caused "sustained permanent and continuous injuries, pain and suffering and emotional trauma that will continue into the future" and that Williams "lost ability to earn a living and will continued to be so in the future."
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday February 02 2019, @02:29PM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Saturday February 02 2019, @03:10PM (1 child)
The legal system is a complex dance of obscure procedures, largely about getting or holding back information to just the right people at just the right time. Errors in this dance can set murderers free.
If the wrong person were to overhear a private legal conversation, it can easily cause problems and land a lawyer in hot water.
To me the bigger question is why this lawyer was using such consumertardastic technology in the first place. After all, it is usually lawyers that insist people use fax machines.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday February 03 2019, @05:33AM
"If". Even if we were to get a lawyer to admit to this sort of misdeed (and endanger their career in the process!), this doesn't mean that the lawyer has standing. After all, it's "consumertardastic technology" for a reason.
But we don't even have that. We have someone speaking of emotional damage without describing a common man reason for having that emotional damage.