Apple, the massive technology
giant, once again “shocked” the world with their new iPhone5S and 5C. Announced mid-September, they displayed their
shiny “new” piece of technology, first starting with the iPhone 5C. Targeted for emerging markets, the 5C is what
the first iPhone 5 was, just wrapped in a plastic back. The least expensive version starts at about
$99 and comes in about five different colors.
Apple continued their event with the unveiling of the iPhone 5S, which
is a 5 on steroids. They quickly began
touting is as the first 64-bit phone, that is, the first phone has ever used a
computing architecture of this type.
They continued their press conference; displaying the phone’s new
camera, new fingerprint scanner and finally explained that it would all be run
using their new operating system, iOS 7.
While many people were dazzled by the new phones and OS, there was an
equal amount that was indifferent.
Earlier this week, Apple released
the final version of their remodeled operating system. As I said earlier, it was met with mixed
reviews. Some of the new features, such
as the quick settings and the swipe anywhere to search abilities, felt like
they were playing a game of “catch-up” with Google and their Android operating
system. Regardless, the update was refreshing
and much needed. The new, flat look of
all the icons and displays was a radical step into a new era of minimalist
design. No matter how beautiful the iOS
can get, there is always an underpinning of the same thing; a paneled design
with not much customization. Apple left
a gaping hole in their OS, which is leading to be catastrophic in their security.
Posted to Forbes on September 19th,
Jose Rodriguez discovered an exploit in the way the iPhone is locked and
operated. Using the new “quick settings”
or “command center”, you can get right passed someone’s lock screen, even
without their fingerprint on the new 5S.
The steps below demonstrate the exploit:
As the video shows, anyone can exploit the bug by swiping up on the lockscreen to access the phone’s “control center,” and then opening the alarm clock. Holding the phone’s sleep button brings up the option to power it off with a swipe. Instead, the intruder can tap “cancel” and double click the home button to enter the phone’s multitasking screen. That offers access to its camera and stored photos, along with the ability to share those photos from the user’s accounts, essentially allowing anyone who grabs the phone to hijack the user’s email, Twitter, Facebook or Flickr account.
Although this seems like a stroke of luck to discover this,
or just brute force testing that Apple overlooked, they are aware of this issue
and should be releasing a patch soon. It
is just a shocking development that Apple, a huge company that should check all
security measures, overlooked such a simple thing. This exploit is public knowledge now and
while most people couldn’t care less about your information or your pictures,
there always is that one person that could be out to get you. Be wary iPhone users running iOS 7, don’t
leave your phone out in the open.
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