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Apple closes law enforcement loophole for the iPhone
Apple is about to make it much harder for law enforcement agencies to gain access to information on iPhones.
The company will include a new feature, called USB Restricted Mode, in a future update of its iOS software, which runs on iPhones and iPads.
The feature disables data transfer through the Lightning port one hour after a phone was last locked, preventing popular third-party hacking tools used by law enforcement from accessing the device. The port can still be used for charging.
[...] Reuters and The New York Times first reported that Apple (AAPL) had confirmed the new feature. Vice's Motherboard previously reported that Apple was testing the change.
Law enforcement officers have already been quoted opposing the security upgrade:
"If we go back to the situation where we again don't have access, now we know directly all the evidence we've lost and all the kids we can't put into a position of safety," said Chuck Cohen, who leads an Indiana State Police task force on internet crimes against children. The Indiana State Police said it unlocked 96 iPhones for various cases this year, each time with a warrant, using a $15,000 device it bought in March from a company called Grayshift.
[...] Hillar Moore, the district attorney in Baton Rouge, La., said his office had paid Cellebrite thousands of dollars to unlock iPhones in five cases since 2017, including an investigation into the hazing-related death of a fraternity pledge at Louisiana State University. He said the phones had yielded crucial information, and he was upset that Apple planned to close such a useful investigative avenue. "They are blatantly protecting criminal activity, and only under the guise of privacy for their clients," he said.
(Score: 3, Informative) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday June 15 2018, @05:01PM (1 child)
As much as I love bashing Bush Jr. I am getting a little tired of that quote being thrown around when it is most likely false. The only news outlet that reported Bush Jr. making this statement has a long history of use fake sources and retracting stories shortly after publishing them, and this story was retracted as well. The story has never been substantiated by any other news source, even unreliable ones.
I'm sure Bush Jr. thought those words many, many times, but he never actually said them in public. Not that it would have made any difference even if he had said them on CNN right before his re-election.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday June 15 2018, @06:08PM
Even if he didn't say it, he sure as hell acted it, which is even worse. Of course, so did Barack "drone-jam" Obama. Makes me think every president we've had since and including Nixon, with the possible exception of Carter, was a traitor...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...