iPhone will be protected from Pegasus monitoring. iOS 16 with new lock mode

Hardware apple Over the years it has been considered reliable and safe. The company prides (and still prides itself on) the privacy of its customers as one of its top priorities. Here you can recall a story from 2016, When the giant refused to release the security keys of the San Bernardino bomber’s iPhone to the FBI. As a result, FBI agents had to spend at least 1.3 million dollar To break these guarantees yourself.

But in recent months, scratches have appeared on Apple’s crystal image. It turns out that at least two companies used vulnerabilities in Apple’s software to break its security. One such company is, of course, the NSO Group, the mysterious Israeli entity responsible for creating the Pegasus spyware.

Independent researchers from Citizen Lab have confirmed a number of hacks using this software on phones belonging to, among other things,in. For politicians or human rights activists. Some of these people are iPhone users. In Poland, with the assistance of Pegasus, among others, attorney Roman Gertic and Prosecutor Ewa Warsawcic.

lock mode apple

Lock mode in iOS 16. Supposed to be “Pegasus-resistant”

Regardless of the actions of law enforcement agencies, Apple conducted its own investigation into this matter. In the course of the investigation, the company determined that Pegasus was exploiting a loophole in the handling of attachments Request Messages.

To prevent these and similar threats, the company has announced the introduction of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS in new versions (all of which will debut this fall). New lock modeIt aims to provide users with an “extra layer of protection”.

Apple makes the most secure mobile devices on the market. Lockdown Mode is a groundbreaking feature that reflects our steadfast commitment to protecting users from even the rarest and most sophisticated attacks

– said Ivan Krstic, Apple’s head of engineering and security.

While the vast majority of users will never fall victim to highly targeted cyber attacks, we will work tirelessly to protect the small number of users who do fall victim to cyber attacks. This includes further designing security features specifically for these users, as well as supporting scientists and organizations around the world who are doing critical work in exposing the mercenary companies responsible for these digital attacks.

– added.

As the company explained, after starting device lock mode, most attachments sent by the app will automatically be blocked Messagesas well as communication confrontation time From unknown numbers. In addition, this mode will block wired connections when the iPhone is locked. And this, in turn, was a response to the actions of the Israeli company Cellebrite, whose software allowed to control iPhones connected “under the cable”.

Apple’s decision has already been commented on by, among others, CitizenLab’s John Scott-Railton, who was instrumental in exposing mass surveillance using Pegasus software. He stated that Lockdown Mode is a “radical reduction” of threats to Apple devices.

“I also hope to see similar efforts from other companies,” he added.