Your iPhone will soon have a Lockdown Mode that will fight hacking and spyware
It’s coming with iOS 16, according to Apple! An ‘extreme’ feature for iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers will be introduced to fight advanced hacking as well as targeted spyware like Pegasus from the NSO Group.
Apple’s Lockdown Mode is probably a James Bond-level anti-spyware tool that may not be used by most ordinary iOS users but can surely come in handy for certain sectors like journalists, activists, lawyers, and even politicians.
Apple has always been known to be ahead when it came to cybersecurity. Beginning with iOS 14.5, users were given the ability to control app tracking permissions – a move that did not make some companies happy.
Lockdown Mode will be another layer to prevent phones from being used against targets. This will be very useful especially against malware like Pegasus, used by oppressive governments against journalists, human rights activists, politicians, and possibly even against targeted citizens.
Why does Lockdown Mode matter?
The world is growing less safe space for activists, journalists, and anyone outspoken against repressive governments, attempts to shrink the democratic space, or disinformation armies. Pegasus, for example, has been used in mercenary surveillance tactics to spy on its targets. A Kaspersky article says this of Pegasus: “Based on forensic analysis of numerous mobile devices, Amnesty International’s Security Lab found that the software was repeatedly used in an abusive manner for surveillance. The list of targeted individuals includes 14 world leaders and many other activists, human rights advocates, dissidents and opposition figures.”
Apple is already notifying users who may be targets of state-sponsored attacks. In an advisory it released last November 2021, Apple disclosed that its threat notifications are sent to targeted users in two ways:
- A Threat Notification is displayed at the top of the page after the user signs into appleid.apple.com.
- Apple sends an email and iMessage notification to the email addresses and phone numbers associated with the user’s Apple ID.
What to Expect when in Lockdown Mode
Apple described some of the security features to expect when your iOS device is on Lockdown Mode.
- Messages – most message attachment types will be blocked. Some features like link previews will not be available.
- FaceTime – Incoming calls from people you have not previously called will be blocked.
- Apple Services – Incoming invitations and service requests will be blocked from people you have not previously sent a call or request to
- Wired connections – Connections to other devices/peripherals will be blocked when the device is locked.
- Web browsing – Certain complex web technologies, like just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, will be disabled unless a trusted site is excluded from Lockdown Mode.
- Shared albums – These will be removed from Photos app and new shared album invitations will be blocked.
- Configuration profiles – These cannot be installed and the device cannot enroll into mobile device management (MDM) while Lockdown Mode is on.
Apple has also indicated that it could add more protections to Lockdown Mode over time.
This looks like very extreme protection and Apple is already warning that the device’s functionality will be severely impacted. Of course, the trade-off here is the added security that a vulnerable or targeted user gets from Lockdown Mode features.
Most iOS users will never even need to use Lockdown Mode. But just knowing that it is there will give peace of mind to the much smaller group of users whose personal privacy and security may be endangered.
What OS can Lockdown Mode run in?
Lockdown Mode will run in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. It is turned off by default but can be turned on in the Privacy and Security section of Settings.
When will this feature be available?
It has been released in the third beta versions of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura for developers but will be available to all users when it is released later this year.
I’m actually looking forward to having Lockdown Mode on iOS. Many of those I know, who have already been targeted in the past, will benefit from some or all of these security features.
What do you think of Lockdown Mode? Do you think these features are helpful?
