A smartphone that is turned off is not turned off - we know it from movies where the batteries are removed from the smartphone and the devices are placed in a refrigerator or microwave.
Security researchers from Darmstadt have just proven in an experiment that they can run malware on a smartphone that is disabled.
Security researchers Jiska Classen, Robert Reith, Alexander Heinrich and Matthias Hollick from Secure Mobile Networking Lab στο TU Darmstadt περιέγραψαν το όλο theme in an 11-page document titled Evil Never Sleeps: When Wireless Malware Stays On After Turning Off iPhone ( PDF). The research results will be presented this week at WiSec 2022 (ACM Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks).
In their work, security researchers took advantage of the fact that most radio chips (for Bluetooth, NFC or WLAN) remain switched on and continue to be powered by the battery when the iPhone is turned off. So a device owner can detect a disabled iPhone, for example, using the "Find Network" feature. If the battery runs out, the iPhone automatically shuts off and switches to power saving mode internally, so it does not turn off completely even then.
The users εξακολουθούν να έχουν πρόσβαση σε δεδομένα από πιστωτικές κάρτες, φοιτητικές ταυτότητες και άλλες πληροφορίες που είναι αποθηκευμένες στο wallet (digital wallet) on the iPhone with the security chip (Secure Enclave Processor).
The team at TU Darmstadt's Mobile Networking Lab analyzed how Apple implements these standalone features, which provide wireless access to the digital wallet and work even when iOS is not running. Research shows that on current iPhones, Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC) and UWB continue to work even after the device is turned off.
On the other hand, all three of the aforementioned wireless chips have direct access to the security chip where digital wallet data is stored. In its document, the team indicates that there is a way to load malware onto an iPhone Bluetooth chip. Malware can run even when the iPhone is turned off.
Details can be found in the PDF Evil Never Sleeps: When Wireless Malware Stays On After Turning Off iPhone.
Cool!