Apple patches three zero-day exploits after activist is hacked
Apple has rolled out a patch for three previously unknown zero-day exploits that were used to hack into the iPhone 6 of Ahmed Mansoor, an award-winning human rights activist based in the United Arab Emirates. Security company Lookout and internet watchdog group Citizen Lab investigated the attack on Mansoor’s iPhone and found it to be the product of NSO Group, a “cyber war” organization based in Israel that’s responsible for distributing a powerful, government-exclusive spyware product called Pegasus.
The hack took advantage of three zero-day exploits that allowed the attackers to jailbreak Mansoor’s iPhone and install spyware to track his movements, record his WhatsApp and Viber calls, log his messages and access his microphone and camera. Given the high cost of iPhone zero-days and the use of a government-specific spyware product, Citizen Lab believes the UAE is behind the hack. The UAE has previously targeted Mansoor.
“We are not aware of any previous instance of an iPhone remote jailbreak used in the wild as part of a targeted attack campaign, making this a rare find,” Citizen Lab writes.
Once Citizen Lab discovered the zero-days, it contacted Apple and says the company responded promptly. Apple released a software update today, iOS 9.3.5, that addresses the three flaws.
Source: Citizen Lab, Apple, Lookout
Your iPhone 6 could be falling victim to ‘touch disease’
If you’ve ever seen a flickering gray bar at the top of your iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus lately, you may be the victim of a very serious problem plaguing your mobile device.
It’s a massive issue that’s been making the rounds on a staggering number of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Pluses sent in for repair each month, each displaying the same symptoms: the gray bar at the top of the screen and a touchscreen that refuses to work properly, almost as if it’s frozen.
According to IFixIt and Forbes, the issue is widespread enough to warrant several pages of complaints via the Apple support forums. The problem is, both the repair techs who continually see the issues coming in and the customers taking to the internet to make their concerns known aren’t seeing much done about it.
While there are some fixes by way of twisting the phone a bit or putting pressure on the screen, these are only temporary band-aids for a much larger problem. The malady may go away for a short time, but then return with a vengeance, eventually losing touchscreen functionality altogether.
Weirdly enough, replacing the touchscreen isn’t a proper fix. The gray bar will creep onto the new screen even when it’s been swapped out, because it’s not exactly a problem with the screen. It’s a problem with the Touch IC chips on the board inside the phone. They must be replaced for the problem to completely go away, and Apple’s Geniuses aren’t able to open up phones to go inside and replace them. Hence, the quandary. Instead, people are turning to smaller, third-party repair shops who are “unauthorized” to fix the issue.
Repair shops have been trying out various fixes to ward off the problem so that it doesn’t return. According to Jessa Jones, microsoldering specialist via IFixIt.org, placing a metal shield soldered over the sticker shield on the problem iPhones seems to fix the issue indefinitely, offering an “internal reinforcement,” a “futureproof shield,” as she calls it.
Unfortunately, since these kinds of fixes aren’t endorsed or OKed by Apple, Jessa and her colleagues have actually been banned from posting on the Apple Support Communities for offering their own views on resolving the problems that so many iPhone owners are experiencing. Apple is fine with having customers purchase new phones, but it doesn’t seem to want to include repair specialists who are finding success when it comes to actually fixing the issue.
It’s estimated, according to New York board repair specialist Louis Rossmann, that this “touch disease” malady could very well turn into a class action lawsuit at some point if customers make a big enough stink. And from the way things are going, it looks like that could be a very real possibility in the future.
Via: Forbes, IFixIt
Apple patents a way to collect iPhone thieves’ fingerprints
Apple’s done a lot to curb iPhone theft via the “Find my iPhone” feature and encryption that locks out users if an incorrect code or fingerprint is used too often. However, it’s thinking about getting more proactive, judging by a new patent. It claims a method of “capturing biometric information for identifying unauthorized users,” including fingerprints, video or audio. The information could be stored or send to a server, where police could presumably use it to figure out who nabbed your device.
The system is pretty simple. The Touch ID sensor, front camera and microphone are already there, they simply need to be switched on without alerting the bad guy. In one scheme, the system could capture biometric data after a single failed passcode attempt; in another, it would only store it after a pre-determined number of failed attempts. On top of storing video, audio and fingerprint data, it could save and transmit “forensic” info like a GPS location. (The patent doesn’t specifically mention the iPhone or iPad, but those are Apple’s only devices with fingerprint sensors.)
Such a feature might be on shaky legal ground, however. Apple, maybe more than any company, understands the downsides of storing data without notifying users. And while it’s fun to speculate about patents, the tech rarely makes it into actual products. Still, Apple can already track thieves, and such a scheme would let you nab them without having to traipse around the world.
Via: Apple Insider
Source: USPTO
Google adds even more 3D Touch support to its iOS app
The Google app on iOS has supported 3D Touch for awhile, but that’s going, ahem, deeper. Now you can deep press on the big G at the bottom of the screen to start a new search query from anywhere within the app. Doing the same on Search and Maps results will offer previews of web pages and maps, respectively, while an even firmer press will open the links or Map. If you don’t have an iOS device that supports the feature, long pressing will net you the same results. Beyond that, version 18’s patch notes are barren aside from word that there are more Doodles and games coming in the future.
Source: iTunes
Apple is reportedly developing a social video app
Deep in the bowels of Apple HQ, the company is reportedly developing a new video-editing and sharing application. According to Bloomberg, it’s similar to Snapchat, allowing iPhone users to quickly record video, apply filters and scribble messages on top with their finger. The app is being optimized for one-handed use, a source tells the site, with a workflow that you can plow through — from shooting to sharing — in under a minute.
Snapchat and Instagram are hugely popular, and Apple wants to accommodate this sort of casual sharing in its own software. Bloomberg says it’s being developed as a standalone app, but could end up as a feature in the existing camera application. The report has stressed, however, that the app may never see the light of day. Apple has killed projects before while they were still in development, and could do the same here if the app doesn’t meet its expectations. The team is said to be striving for a 2017 release, and any delays could also result in its cancellation.
Bloomberg’s report also mentions an improved “proactive assistance” feature which, separate to the new video app, would help people to stay in touch with their closest friends and family. The company is trying “to make sharing and connectivity with contacts a system-wide feature,” the publication writes, and would include “single panels” where you could review all of your texts and emails from a specific person. Its release is dependent on approval from Apple’s internal privacy team, however.
Apple’s challenge is to develop software that’s relevant and appealing to iPhone users. The company has long-struggled to build market-leading applications and services — it’s why most people stuff the pre-installed iOS apps into a folder (or, now, remove them from their device entirely.) Hardware is but one piece of the smartphone puzzle — to keep millions of people smitten with the iPhone, it needs to build compelling apps too.
Via: The Verge
Source: Bloomberg
Google App on iOS Gains Expanded Support For 3D Touch Actions
Google today updated its iOS app of the same name, with increased support for 3D Touch on compatible devices.
The update expands on 3D Touch support originally introduced to the Google app in December, allowing iPhone 6s and 6s Plus owners to make more use of the devices’ “peek” and “pop” gestures.
Deep pressing on a title or map in Google search results now offers a “peek” preview of the linked page, while pressing harder “pops” the page into fullscreen view.
Elsewhere, users can deep press on the “G” button to start a search from anywhere within the app. Users without a 3D Touch-supporting device can long press on the button instead for the same action.
Google for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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Samsung Launches Limited iOS Beta Program for Gear S2 Smart Watch
Back in January, Samsung announced plans to add iOS support to its Gear S2 Smart Watch, and it appears the South Korean company is getting close to launching the promised iOS app.
Starting today, Samsung is launching a new beta testing program for the Gear iOS app (via SamMobile), which will run from Wednesday, August 24 to Monday, September 19, suggesting a release date that could come as early as late September.
The Gear iOS beta is only available to Samsung Gear S2, Gear S2 Classic, and Gear Fit 2 owners who are located in South Korea, so U.S. users will not be able to participate in the beta testing process. Participation in the beta program requires an Apple ID and an iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.4 or later.
Samsung plans to use the feedback garnered from beta testers to make improvements to its upcoming iOS app. Details on the app, including screenshots, leaked out back in April. Based on that leaked information, the Gear S2 iOS app will be able to deliver notifications to the smart watch and it will be able to install and manage apps from the Gear store.
Aside from an end date of September 19 for the beta testing program, Samsung has given no hints on when iOS support will be officially implemented.
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Apple Adds to Vintage Software Collection With eBay Purchase
An Apple collector who was selling his vintage Apple software collection on eBay received a surprise earlier this month when Apple itself bought out much of his software inventory for its software archives (via MacGeneration).
According to seller “Marcoguy,” he made several listings of various Apple CDs and received a message from someone asking to buy a dozen discs. When he went to ship the package, he noticed it was going to 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California, Apple’s corporate address. Upon asking the buyer about the purchase, he was told that Apple maintains a lab at its headquarters containing archived materials. “We were missing some of the disks that you placed on eBay,” wrote the buyer.
So yeah, Apple bought some of their own software back from me. 🙂 Feel free to post if you’ve had a similar experience, as I would love to hear about it. I knew Microsoft has a pretty robust archive of their history, but I wasn’t aware Apple does too until this happened.
Just goes to show how necessary this community is. If is wasn’t for collectors like us, so much software would just be lost, out of the grasp of even the companies that produced it.
It’s not clear how much Apple paid to fill out its archives, but the seller lists his software at prices ranging from $9.95 to $19.95. It’s also not known exactly what Apple purchased, but the seller is offering many rare CDs from the early 90s, including a beta version of Apple’s System 7 operating system and a disc from WWDC in 1994.
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Apple Stops Signing iOS 9.3.2 and iOS 9.3.3
As of today, Apple has stopped signing iOS 9.3.2 and iOS 9.3.3 for compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models, meaning users can no longer upgrade or downgrade to those versions of iOS using iTunes. Apple is now only signing iOS 9.3.4.
iOS 9.3.2, initially released to the public on May 16, 2016, was an update that initially bricked some 9.7-inch iPad Pro devices until an updated version was released on June 2.
iOS 9.3.2 was followed by iOS 9.3.3, released on July 18, and iOS 9.3.4, released on August 4. iOS 9.3.2 and iOS 9.3.3 were both compatible with the recent Pangu iOS jailbreak software, which is disabled by iOS 9.3.4.
Now that Apple has stopped signing iOS 9.3.2 and iOS 9.3.3, it is no longer possible to downgrade to a version of iOS that supports the Pangu jailbreak.
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Deutsche Telekom to Offer Subscribers Six Months of Apple Music for Free
German carrier Deutsche Telekom is planning to lure new customers by offering six months of Apple Music service for free, reports iPhone-ticker.de [Google Translate]. Aimed at customers who have not yet tried Apple Music, the offer will be announced at IFA in Berlin, set to take place from September 2 to September 7.
According to the report, new Apple Music subscribers on Deutsche Telekom will get the standard three-month free trial and then an additional three months of service paid for by the carrier.
Following the conclusion of the six month trial period, customers will be able to continue their subscriptions and pay for them via their personal phone bill, making it easier to maintain a subscription. It is not known if Deutsche Telekom will only be covering individual subscriptions or if customers are also eligible for family plans.
For its Apple Music service, Apple offers extended three month free trial periods in an effort to get people accustomed to using the service, a longer trial period than the one month offered by most streaming services. Apple’s strategy has been somewhat successful, and as of June 2016, Apple Music had more than 15 million paying subscribers.
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