Security experts say that Apple’s new iPhone software has a unique security feature that restarts the phone after 72 hours of not being unlocked.
404 Media reported last week that police and forensic experts were worried that some iPhones were restarting themselves for unknown reasons, making it harder for them to get into the devices and get data from them. Later, 404 Media said that security experts had found that iOS 18 had a new feature called “inactivity reboot” that made the devices restart.
We know the exact time it takes for this tool to work now.
A researcher at the Hasso Plattner Institute named Jiska Classen was one of the first security experts to notice this new feature. On Wednesday, she posted a video showing how the “inactivity reboot” feature works. The video shows that after 72 hours, an iPhone that hasn’t been opened will restart itself on its own.
It was confirmed by Magnet Forensics, a business that makes digital forensic products like the iPhone and Android data extraction tool Graykey, that the feature has a 72-hour timer.
iPhones are safer when they “inactivity reboot,” which locks the user’s encryption keys in the iPhone’s secure enclave chip.
Classen wrote on X, “Even if thieves leave your iPhone on for a long time, they won’t be able to unlock it with cheaper, more out-of-date forensic tools.” “Criminals’ devices will still be able to give information to police, but inactivity reboot will make it harder for them to do so.” Three days is still plenty of time to work out the next steps with skilled analysts.
Law enforcement, forensic experts, or hackers may not be able to open an iPhone by brute-forcing the user’s passcode or extracting data by taking advantage of security holes in the iPhone software if it is in one of two states. “Before First Unlock,” or BFU, and “After First Unlock,” or AFU, are the names of these two states.
If someone tries to get into an iPhone while it’s in BFU state, they will not be able to get to the user’s data because it is fully protected and really hard to get to. If the phone is locked, some data is not protected while it is in AFU state, which means that some device forensic tools may be able to get to it more easily in that case.
An iPhone security expert who goes by the name Tihmstar told Parhlo World that these two states are also known as “hot” and “cold” devices.
Tihmstar said that a lot of forensic companies focus on “hot” devices that are in an AFU state. This is because the user entered the right passcode at some point, and it is stored in the secure enclave’s memory. “Cold” devices, on the other hand, are much harder to hack because it’s hard to get to their memory after the phone returns.
Also Read: Apple is Being Sued in the Uk for $3.8 Billion for “icloud Monopoly.”
Since years ago, Apple has been adding new security features that police have spoken out against, saying that they make their job harder. The FBI went to court with Apple in 2016 to try to get the company to make a hack that would let a mass shooter get into those phones. In the end, the Australian company Azimuth Security helped the FBI break into the phone.
What do you say about this story? Visit Parhlo World For more.
