Apple’s New ‘Auto-Rebooting’ Safety Feature Is a Headache for Thieves – And Cops
Key Takeaways
- Apple quietly rolled out a security feature in its iOS 18.1 update that reboots a device after 4 days of inactivity.
- After the reboot, the device enters a Before First Unlock" (BFU) which requires the user to enter the original password in order to access the device.
- While this is a great deterrent for thieves, law enforcement authorities have been caught in the crosshairs, as they're finding it difficult to collect evidence from confiscated devices.
Apple's new security feature, which it launched in the iOS 18.1 update on October 28, 2024, will keep out thieves, but it also has the potential to play spoilsport for cops wanting to investigate the device.
The update was released a few weeks ago, but no one actually realized that there's a new security feature in town until an incident broke out where the authorities were locked out of a device they were trying to break into.
The phenomenon was first discovered by a forensic specialist called Christopher Vance. He shared a message on a law enforcement and forensic expert group chat that said We have identified code within iOS 18 and higher that is an inactivity timer."
About the FeatureThe feature is being called inactivity reboot" and it was discovered last week when iPhones that were confiscated as evidence automatically rebooted.
Upon further investigation, it was found that any iPhone that stayed locked for more than 4 days automatically reboots. After the reboot, the device enters into a Before First Unlock" (BFU) state, which requires the user to put in the original access code to use the device. This is making it harder for the authorities to collect evidence.
Dr.-Ing. Jiska Classen, who is a researcher at the Hasso Plattner Institute, seems to have solved the mystery about how this feature works. He shared his findings through a post on X.
Note: BFU means that the device has not been unlocked even once after it was rebooted. The opposite of this is After First Unlock (AFU), which means that the device has been unlocked at least once after reboot.
Apple's Privacy-Focused ApproachApple's addition of this new feature is what many experts are calling the latest blow in the long-running struggle between authorities and smartphone companies like Apple.
Law enforcement authorities want access to devices so that they can extract data (evidence) when needed. However, companies like Apple - especially Apple that has positioned itself as a privacy-focused brand - doesn't want such blatant intrusion" when it comes to the privacy of its users.
This is, however, assuming that all Apple users are good citizens, which, needless to say, isn't the case. Oftentimes, devices such as smartphones can contain vital and indispensable information regarding crimes and criminals, which is why cops breaking into devices is legally possible in the first place.
Whatever Apple's reasons might have been to roll out this feature, it's ultimately in the best interest of its customers - I'm generalizing here, folks! This feature will ensure that even if your Apple device is stolen, the thief won't be able to break into your device, let alone steal your personal information.
The post Apple's New Auto-Rebooting' Safety Feature Is a Headache for Thieves - And Cops appeared first on Techreport.