Apple Made It Even Tougher for Police to Unlock iPhones After Trump’s Complaints

Apple has introduced a new security feature in iOS 18.1. This comes in the wake of former President Trump's complaints about the difficulty of unlocking the iPhones of people who attacked him.



The feature, dubbed "inactivity reboot," automatically restarts iPhones that have been locked and unused for approximately four days. Upon reboot, the device enters a highly secure "Before First Unlock" (BFU) state, limiting the data that can be extracted without the user's passcode or biometric authentication.



Chris Wade, founder of mobile analysis company Corellium, identified the new "inactivity reboot" code in iOS 18.1.




https://twitter.com/naehrdine/status/1854896392797360484




This is worrying law enforcement, as it complicates forensic checks on seized devices. Police have reported unexpected reboots of stored iPhones, compromising ongoing investigations. The BFU state makes it considerably more challenging to extract data using existing forensic tools.



For iPhone users, this feature adds extra security automatically, keeping your data safer if your device gets lost or stolen for a while. The best part is that no extra steps are needed.



Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment on this new feature.



This latest security enhancement underscores the ongoing tension between personal data protection and law enforcement needs in the digital age.



More here.