It’s no secret Apple continuously strives to protect iPhone users by improving their security features.
The company’s upcoming feature may aid in those efforts.
The technology giant announced Wednesday it will bring a new “Lockdown Mode” to its upcoming iPhone and Mac software that will switch off certain features aimed at helping targeted individuals combat government-grade spyware.
The company said the new feature is “an extreme optional protection” for device owners who are more likely to be targeted by nation-states using powerful spyware, like journalists, activists and human rights defenders.
So, it’s safe to say it’s a feature that’s not needed by everyone.
The feature may have been the answer to years of repeated and successful attacks targeting thousands of iPhone users around the world. According to Tech Crunch, Spyware makers like NSO Group, Candiru and Cytrox build the exploits that breach a device’s security protections in order to plant spyware on behalf of their government clients.
To fight back, Apple normally releases updates for its devices, but wider efforts to bolster its iPhone security exploits against these kinds of exploits have not always been successful.
So, iPhone users, you no longer have to wonder why you constantly have to update your device.
But the need for better security becomes more urgent than that because, according to researchers, it’s not uncommon for government-grade spyware to read messages, call logs, download photos, covertly record the device’s microphone and phone calls, take photos using the phone’s camera, access the victim’s passwords and track the phone’s location in real-time, Tech Crunch reported.
Additionally, Tech Crunch reported that with “Lockdown Mode,” those who are subject to targeted hacking attempts can immediately disable a number of features like limiting what code can run in apps and on websites and vastly limiting other areas of Apple software. iMessage and FaceTime, which have been abused by spyware makers to create exploits able to plant spyware on iPhones, will also have the disable feature.
According to a post made by Apple, the tech giant said the new lockdown feature “further hardens devices defenses and strictly limits certain functionalities, sharply reducing the attack surface that potentially could be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware.”
Excited about the new security feature? Apple said “Lockdown Mode” will arrive in iOS 16, iPad OS 16 and macOS Ventura, which will drop later this year alongside their new iPhones.
Read more via Tech Crunch.
