Apple announces new lockdown mode for iPhone
For years, Apple has positioned its iPhones, iPads, and Macs as the most secure and privacy-focused gadgets available. On Wednesday, it bolstered that effort with a new feature called Lockdown Mode, which will be available this fall and is designed to combat targeted hacking attempts such as the Pegasus malware, which oppressive governments allegedly used on human rights workers, lawyers, politicians, and journalists. It also announced a $10 million grant and a bug bounty of up to $2 million to stimulate additional study into such dangers.
Lockdown Mode, according to the tech giant, is intended to add further safeguards to its phones, such as barring attachments and link previews in messages, potentially hackable web browsing technology, and incoming FaceTime calls from unknown numbers. Apple devices will also not allow accessory connections unless the device is unlocked, and new remote management software cannot be installed on the devices while they are in Lockdown Mode. The new capability will be accessible for testing software used by developers this summer and will be made generally available for free in the fall.
Along with the new Lockdown Mode, which Apple describes as an “extreme” step, the corporation announced a $10 million gift to the Ford Foundation’s Dignity and Justice Fund to protect human rights and resist social repression.
The company’s efforts to improve device security come at a time when the technology industry is increasingly facing targeted cyberattacks from authoritarian governments all over the world. Unlike broad ransomware or virus campaigns, which are generally aimed to spread indiscriminately through residential and corporate networks, Pegasus attacks are designed for discreet intelligence gathering.
Apple stated that it intends to expand Lockdown Mode in the future and provided a big prize of up to $2 million for people who discover security flaws in the new feature. For the time being, it’s largely intended to disable computer functionality that may be useful but expose users to potential assaults. Turning off some fonts, link previews, and incoming FaceTime calls from unknown accounts are among the options.
