Apple, Mac, MacOS, iOS4, iPad, iPhone and (in)security...

A security researcher caused something of a kerfuffle during the Def Con 2023 hacking conference in Las Vegas last month. Some attendees with iPhones were shocked to see an Apple pop-up notification asking them to connect to a nearby Apple TV device using their Apple ID credentials. Not least, as some of the hackers on the receiving end of these Bluetooth-powered prompts were running with Bluetooth disabled. Or so they thought. Now, another security researcher has demonstrated a similar hack that uses a readily available hacking device to spam nearby iPhones with pop-up notifications and effectively execute a denial of service attack.

Learn more / En savoir plus / Mehr erfahren:

https://www.scoop.it/t/apple-mac-ios4-ipad-iphone-and-in-security

If you're an iPhone user who's downloaded iOS 11, you'll want to pay attention to this recent Tweet from F-Secure's head of hardware security Andrea Barisani.

iOS 11 comes with a new Control Center that opens when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen. But ironically, the app seems to be lacking some control. When you tap the Bluetooth and Wifi icons, while the phone disconnects from any current Bluetooth or Wifi connections, it doesn’t turn off those features completely.

That means new Bluetooth or Wifi connections can still be made. In order to make sure those features are off completely, you’ll need to go into the separate Settings app and turn them off there.

From a security and privacy perspective, it’s important to understand this distinction because turning off Bluetooth and Wifi when you’re not using them prevents your device from broadcasting information about itself.

Learn more / En savoir plus / Mehr erfahren: 

https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/privacy-in-the-digital-world-shouldnt-we-talk-about-it/

https://gustmees.wordpress.com/?s=privacy

To be fair to Apple, this behaviour is officially documented in Apple support article HT208086, entitled Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11, but in our opinion, you’d be forgiven for thinking that those those grey “off” icons on the Control Centre screen really meant “off”.

As the support article explains it, “off” in this context means something much more nebulous, namely:

Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will continue to be available, so you can use these important features: AirDrop, AirPlay, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch, Continuity features, like Handoff and Instant Hotspot, Instant Hotspot and Location Services.
Curiously, the support article also documents that both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will automatically come back on when one of these happens:

You walk or drive to a new location. (Wi-Fi only.)
It’s 05:00 local time.
You restart your device.