Silicon Valley : Espionage attacks have increased a lot in the past days. Keeping this in mind, Apple has brought new features Apple Lockdown Mode. For Apple products like iPhone, iPad and Macs etc.
This security mode will be available in the upcoming iOS 16, iPad0s16 and Mac0s Ventura. Seeing cases like Pegasus spyware, Apple has brought this new feature lockdown mode.
The iPhone was spied through Pegasus spyware from Israel’s NSO Group. Businessmen, social activists, human rights advocates, politicians and journalists were targeted.
This new feature will block incoming attachments on the iPhone. This new security mode will also turn off file transfers to the iPhone via wire.
It has been said from Apple that, this feature has been brought to protect against zero click hacking technique. Apple has said that, if any security researcher finds a flaw in this new feature.
So he will be given 2 million dollars as a reward. This will be part of Apple’s bug bounty program. This Will block most message attachment types.
Simultaneously, the complex will disable web technologies such as JavaScript compilation, etc. It will also block incoming invitations and service requests on Apple service.
Apple says that users who are personally targeted by digital threats. This will help protect them. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple’s latest iOS 16 developer beta 3 includes this lock down mode.
Apple shared a screenshot of the lock down mode. In which it looks like how it looks in ios 16. This step has been taken by Apple in view of the ever-increasing spying threat on iPhone devices.
Apple says that Apple has invited a security researcher. So that the flaws of the lockdown mode can be detected. Apple says that this is an Extreme Security feature. It is not for all users, but it is for very few users.
It is not clear right now if users turn on the lockdown mode once. So it will automatically turn off or not. This is an optional security. Lockdown mode will not turn on automatically.
Those users whose digital security is at high risk, it should be used by those users, such as journalists, activist politicians etc. It is also for those who have fallen prey to spyware like Pegasus, Hermit.
Most messages that have attachments other than images will be blocked when lock down mode is turned on. Link preview will be disabled in the message. Some websites will not load as expected and some scripts will be blocked.
According to Apple, if the user has kept a trusted site out of Lockdown Mode. Then the site will load. Apple will not allow any unknown FaceTime calls, invitations and service requests.
In addition, wired connections to a computer or accessory will also be blocked when the iPhone is locked. Due to this feature, access to the device’s wire connection will also be blocked, due to which it will not be able to enroll the device for mobile device management.
Apple is not new who is bringing this feature in the market. Earlier, Google and Microsoft have also introduced the security feature. In 2017, Google announced Advanced Protection Mode to keep user’s data private.
The same Microsoft also added Super Duper Secure Mode to the edge browser. Which makes web browsing secure. This software will be available after the update in older Apple devices like iPhone 7 and iPhone 6S etc.