Apple’s extreme Lockdown Mode for iPhone has never been hacked, but do you need it?
Apple's Lockdown Mode has a perfect record, the company says, but it's only designed for extreme use cases.
Apple says its Lockdown Mode security feature for iPhone and Mac computers has never been beaten by would-be nefarious hackers. It has been four years since Apple launched Lockdown Mode in iOS 16 as an “extreme optional protection” mode for people, who could be targeted by government spyware.
“We are not aware of any successful mercenary spyware attacks against a Lockdown Mode-enabled Apple device,” the Apple spokesperson Sarah O’Rourke told TechCrunch.
It’s recommended for people who might be trying to expose illicit government activity – so, journalists, lawyers, activists and human right campaigners for example. Any of those folks in the United States should be using that right now now.
“When Lockdown Mode is enabled, your device won’t function like it typically does,” Apple says on its website. “To reduce the attack surface that potentially could be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware, certain apps, websites, and features are strictly limited for security and some experiences might not be available at all.”
In effect, it means message attachments are blocked, web browsing is in uber-careful mode, while FaceTime calls are automatically blocked unless you have called that person within 30 days. The Photos app won’t include any location data when you share an image.
I hope you all have good weekends, I’m off to turn Lockdown Mode on on my iPhone and Mac.
Chris Smith