Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), LockdownMode: Last year, Apple introduced a new feature for iPhone users worried about being targeted with sophisticated software spyware interceptors, such as journalists or human rights defenders.
Today, some researchers αναφέρουν ότι βρήκαν στοιχεία για ένα νέο χαρακτηριστικό που ονομάζεται Lockdown Mode και βοηθάει στον αποκλεισμό λογισμικού υποκλοπής spyware που δημιουργήθηκε από τον hacking εταιρεία NSO Group (για παράδειγμα τα γνωστά μας Predator and Pegasus).
On Tuesday, the cybersecurity and human rights research group Citizen Lab he published a report that analyzes three new exploits zero-day in iOS 15 and iOS 16. This means that Apple was unaware of the security holes that were used to target at least two human rights defenders in Mexico.
One of those exploits was blocked by Lockdown Mode, the researchers found. Lockdown Mode was designed to reduce the attack surface on the iPhone. This is the first documented case of Lockdown Mode successfully protecting someone from a targeted attack.
In the recent cases, Citizen Lab researchers reported that the targets' iPhones prevented hacking attempts and displayed a warning that said the Lockdown feature was preventing someone from accessing the phone's Home app. The researchers, however, state that it is very likely that at some point the NSO developers "will discover new ways that fix the notification problem."