The iPhone X is coming, and with it a shiny new iOS for legions of Apple fans to excitedly pore over. One group that may not be so stoked on the update, however, is law enforcement.
Two new features in the operating system will make it more difficult for investigators to access data on seized devices, and security experts are heralding it as an overdue change to how the data on our smartphones is protected — both from potential criminals and the cops.
SEE ALSO:Why the iPhone 8's facial recognition could be a privacy disasterThe first update we learned about in August: Hitting the home button five times in quick succession will disable Touch ID, requiring instead the use of a passphrase to unlock the phone. This could come in handy if, say, an activist knew his or her phone was about to be confiscated. In the U.S., police can compel people to unlock their phones with fingerprints but not with passwords.
The second and latest security revelation is a tad more subtle, but equally intriguing. Digital forensic tool manufacturer ElcomSoft dived into the new iOS and found that connecting an iPhone to a computer is about to get more secure. As it currently stands, when an unlocked iPhone is plugged in it asks the user if they trust the device. If they do, the computer can then access the contents of the smartphone. That process is getting an overhaul.
"Establishing trust with a new computer now becomes a two-step process," the company explains in a blog post, "and requires supplying device passcode in addition to confirming the 'Trust this computer?' prompt."
Tweet may have been deleted
Notably, a fingerprint will not work for this second verification. "During the second step, the device will ask to enter the passcode in order to complete pairing," notes a more detailed ElcomSoft blog post. "This in turn requires forensic experts to know the passcode; Touch ID alone can no longer be used to unlock the device and perform logical acquisition."
Why does this matter? Well, if your smartphone has been seized by police (or stolen by a thief) while unlocked, the person in possession of the phone could previously download all of the contents to a computer — allowing for a detailed analyses by security forensic tools (like those manufactured by ElcomSoft). With iOS 11, however, the iPhone will require a re-entering of the password.
You see where this is going?
"Without first pairing the iOS device to a computer, experts will be unable to make a local backup of the device," explains ElcomSoft. "This in turn would leave iCloud as the only remaining acquisition option."
Basically, it just got harder for cops to lift all the data off your phone in one fell swoop. Sure, they could still manually scroll through all your texts, emails, phone records, and everything else stored locally — but making a backup and analyzing it wholesale is another story.
TopicsAppleCybersecurityiPhone
(责任编辑：知識)
There's a big piece of fake chicken stuck to this phone case
Google Lens finally available as a standalone app from the Play StoreHubble Space Telescope photos create awePete Souza is releasing an entire book of nothing but Trump shadeThis chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jump'Rocket League' Championship Series Season 2 offers $250,000 prize pool
Rocket League。's competitive scene is just getting started. 。The 。 Rocket League 。Championship Series i
...[详细]
Do you ever light scented candles during or after cooking to get rid of the food smell? Well, A1 &nd
...[详细]'Stranger Things' books are coming to you
Two
。 Stranger Things 。books are on their way from Penguin Random House. That's two books publishing f
...[详细]No Game of Thronesin 2018 means that the speculation around the show's eighth and final season will
...[详细]Major earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central Italy
UPDATE: Aug. 25, 2016, 8:22 a.m. BST
。 Death toll is now at least 247 dead: 190 in Rieti province and
...[详细]Everyone hates Comcast and loves Netflix, according to ACSI report
People love streaming services such as Netflix and Twitch. Their internet service providers? Not so
...[详细]Sonos Beam is the newest smart speaker for your TV
Today, at a special media event in San Francisco, Sonos announced a new partnership with Apple and a
...[详细]Striking photos of National Die
To mark the two-year anniversary of the deadly 2016 shootings at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Flo
...[详细]Hiddleswift finally followed each other on Instagram after 3 excruciating days
On Aug. 13, 1961, Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall, perhaps the greatest symbol of the
...[详细]Facebook Messenger is finally going to cut down on troll notifications
Facebook power users, hands up: You just added a new friend and the Messenger icon in the top-right
...[详细]Mom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamed
How Mars' Opportunity rover has survived Martian hell for 15 years