Apple will introduce a new Lockdown Mode as it fights spyware firms
The action was taken in response when two Israeli firms remotely hacking iPhones via holes in Apple’s software.
Apple Inc. announced on Wednesday that it will provide “Lockdown Mode,” a new feature, this fall in an effort to provide additional security for political dissidents, human rights activists, and other targets of sophisticated hacker attempts.
The action follows the use of Apple’s software vulnerabilities by at least two Israeli companies to remotely access iPhones without the target having to click or do anything. Apple has filed a lawsuit against NSO Group, the developer of the “Pegasus” software that enables such assaults, and U.S. authorities have added NSO Group to a trade blacklist.
This autumn, “Lockdown Mode” will be available for Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and Macs. When enabled, it will prevent the majority of attachments from being transmitted to the iPhone’s Messages app. Security experts think NSO Group took advantage of a weakness in the way Apple handled communication attachments. When iPhones are locked, the new mode will also prevent wired connections. Such manual connections have been used by the Israeli company Cellebrite to access iPhones.
The “zero click” hacking tactics that the new feature is intended to combat, according to Apple officials, are still very uncommon and most users won’t need to activate the new mode.
Companies who sell spyware have suggested that they do it to assist governments in fending off dangers to national security. However, human rights organisations and journalists have frequently shown how malware is used to target civil society, stifle political dissent, and meddle in elections.
According to Apple reps, this is the greatest “bug bounty” available in the market. Apple claimed it will pay up to $2 million for any vulnerability that security experts may uncover in the new mode, which will help strengthen the feature.
Apple also said that it will donate $10 million to organisations that identify, expose, and seek to stop targeted hacking, in addition to any potential settlement funds from its legal action against NSO Group. According to Apple, the donation would benefit the Ford Foundation’s Dignity and Justice Fund, one of the biggest private foundations in the country.