Apple launched iPhone Lockdown Mode as a solution to aid those who suffer serious, targeted threats to their online security. For a select group of users, such as journalists, politicians, and human rights activists who are targeted by state-sponsored spyware like Pegasus, which was created by Israel-based NSO group, Apple describes this as an extreme but optional defence. But it appears that a straightforward proof-of-concept website can tell if you have the mode enabled, which may make you a target.
A proof-of-concept website created by privacy activist and CEO of the privacy-focused startup Cryptee, John Ozbay, can instantly tell whether you are using the Lockdown Mode on your iPhone or not, according to a Motherboard story.
After at least two Israeli companies used bugs in Apple's software to remotely hack iPhones without the target having to touch or press anything, Apple created this function to add an extra degree of security. Such assaults can be carried out by introducing malware and gaining access to private user data using NSO Group's Pegasus software. Once Lockdown Mode is activated, it won't operate normally again. For security reasons, there will be tight restrictions on the apps, websites, and services, and certain experiences won't be available at all.
"Say you're in Lockdown Mode and you're in China. Now that websites have your IP address, they can efficiently tell if you are utilising Lockdown Mode. As a result, they will be able to determine that the user associated with this IP address is in Lockdown Mode. Between security and privacy, there is a trade-off. "[Apple] chose security," according to a comment from Ozbay. The absence of loading custom fonts is "the easiest thing to recognise and abuse," according to Ozbay, among the many things that Lockdown Mode disables.
We put the code together and tested it for functionality in under five minutes, he told Motherboard. The privacy activist further claims that there may be no workaround for this problem because it isn't a bug per se but rather a specific weakness in how Lockdown Mode was created. According to him, Apple can only solve this problem by fundamentally altering the way the Lockdown Mode functions.
According to Apple, the Lockdown Mode in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura further fortifies device defences and severely restricts several features. The introduction of iPadOS could occur in October, while iOS 16 is probably coming out following month.
