What is Apple’s new “lockdown” mode and how does it operate?
Apple, determined to preserve its users’ privacy, plans to offer a “Lockdown Mode” this fall in a major upgrade. According to Apple Inc, this will give a new layer of safety for those who are frequently targets of sophisticated cyber attempts, such as human rights campaigners and political dissidents. The move follows the discovery that two Israeli businesses used holes in Apple’s software to remotely hack into iPhones without the target ever clicking or touching on a malicious link. When activated, this option prevents most attachments from being delivered to the iPhone’s Messages app. Security experts believe NSO Group exploited a flaw in Apple’s handling of communication attachments.
One such malware that may carry out such assaults is the NSO Group’s ‘Pegasus’ eavesdropping program. Apple has sued the manufacturer, and US officials have placed him on a trade blacklist.
What is Apple’s new “lockdown” mode and how does it operate?
The new functionality will safeguard against “zero click” hacking techniques. According to an Apple spokesman, the new mode is still quite unusual, and most customers will not even need to enable it.
Organizations who sell such malware claim that they do it to assist governments in combating risks to national security.
But human rights groups and journalists have regularly demonstrated how malware is used to target civil society, suppress political opposition, and intervene in elections.
In order to reinforce the functionality, Apple has also guaranteed that it would pay up to $2 million for any security flaw that researchers may find in the new mode. The largest “bug reward” on the market, according to Apple reps, is being offered here.
In addition to any potential settlement payments from its legal proceedings over NSO Group, the business also announced that it will contribute $10 million to organizations that locate, reveal, and work to halt targeted hacking. The Dignity and Justice Fund of the Ford Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the nation, will receive the award, according to Apple.
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