You can choose to use an iPhone. Most people will never be targeted. Hell you could use a phone with no security at all and odds are you’ll be safe. But if you have enemies or are a high profile target, apple has made you easy to destroy. iPhones themselves can be hacked with no click attacks and we know this because macron’s phone was one of many that was listed in the recent fiasco. Icloud can be hacked because legions of celebrities had their nudes published. If the device is not secure, even for the president of France, and iCloud is not secure for legions if celebrities, then people can and will be hit with this attack and have their lives permanently destroyed. Worse than having you sex photos leaked, worse than having all you calls and communications intercepted, you’ll become known as a pedo. You can’t undo that. To be sure, that probably won’t happen to most people, but political figures, those with enemies working in infosec, etc…. I want a secure phone, and iPhone no longer meets that need for me and many others. You can do you.
Yeah but iPhones are the least secure phones. You might get 6 years of security, but the amount of 0 click exploits that were seen in the wild have caused death(Khashoggi at a minimum) and nude leaks(Bezos).
Anyone who knows how to use a smartphone properly simply won't have security problems to deal with.
What difference does any of this make with iOS when we all know the US Gov't can simply access backdoors whenever they please? Don't fall for this security meme.
What does any of this matter when iCloud is a hacker's dream??
And I didn't ask if HN readers' phones CAN be hacked, I simply asked if they WERE asked. F off Elitist troll.
If a hacker got full remote access to my phone it’d be a complete and utter disaster. Especially since the phone itself is considered a two factor authentication device by several services and my employer.
And the attack vectors are more numerous. I have ten times as many apps on my phones, it’s always on, always connected, and may frequently connect to wifi networks I don’t fully trust.
The consequences and the attack vectors for a hacker to attack my laptop are fewer.
I’m on the side of wanting Apple to open up a bit more. But I it’s absolutely valid to want the iPhone to be more secure than a laptop. And I seriously hope Apple isn’t forced to let people install apps that aren’t signed and reviewed. I can guarantee you that critical services in your life will force you to install insecure and straight up dangerous apps. The banking sector in some countries is a prime example of that, especially back in the ActiveX era.
The average user does not know much about security. They trust Apple's brand more than they trust their friends (with secrets and health apps) and they will now likely stop using many services rather than step up security.
What is interesting is that the perception among normal people I heard speak about this is that all of iCloud has been breached, i.e. everyone's photos are in the hands of hackers and they only released the pics of celebs.
The reality is of course likely that an attacker was able to hack one phone which among photos hosted contacts and mail addresses of other celebs and from there on they got their hand on more accounts to directly target.
Anyway, my point is that to average consumers it does not mean that they need to use stronger security or that they would understand about targeted attacks. They will believe Apple has been breached and they will think more before creating private selfies or putting health data onto their until now so trusted companions.
I'd wager that my iPhone and MacBook (encrypted) are safer against 99% of all adversaries on this planet. Now maybe the NSA and some other high-level players can get around even the newest security features, but I'm pretty sure the crook that steals my phone can't, as well as my local police. What else should I be afraid off? If the NSA want to screw me, they will find ways around my computers. Same for CIA/FBI etc.
To me it appears that a modern iPhone is the most secure phone you can own. Not claiming to like it, but it is better than the one alternative OS you could use.
And other than the big players? Linux on your phone - probably a PITA; Linux on your Laptop/Workstation - fine if you don't need specific programs. But want to develop for iOS? It's mac all the way.
If you are privacy paranoid an iPhone is the only phone I would trust these days.
You can disable essentially all data collection, the hardware encryption on the device is the only one I trust, their business model so far does not revolve around you being the product but rather a consumer and you get years of guaranteed security updates.
The iPhone is secure when used with a complex passcode (something like 11 years to crack an 8 character password), even if Apple aids the FBI. So individuals who know and care enough, like terrorists, will still be just as secure.
But common people won't. So no, Apple should absolutely not destroy the security of hundreds of millions of individuals just because some government agency wants a shot at access to some dead guy's phone.
What happens when the PRC or Saudi equivalent of the FBI demands the same for an FBI agents phone? Why should the populace and Apple have to suffer for making the world more secure?
Apple developing a more secure platform is an innovation and advancement. If the iPhone isn’t the right choice for you buy one of the other thousand phones on the market, and leave other people alone.
My phone is an extension of my brain, it is my most trusted companion. It holds my passwords, my mail, my messages, my photos, my plans and notes, it holds the keys to my bank accounts and my investments. I sleep with it by my bed and I carry it around every day. It is my partner in crime.
Now apple are telling me that my trusted companion is scanning my photos as they are uploaded to iCloud, looking for evidence that apple can pass to the authorities? They made my phone a snitch?
This isn't about security or privacy, I don't care about encryption or hashes here, this is about trust. If I can't trust my phone, I can't use it.
The vast majority of people do not have to deal with these concerns. The odds of you losing your device are way higher than Apple getting hacked by orders of magnitude. If you are someone who falls into these professions then you probably should know what you're doing and disable it, or buy a different phone, or have some kind of backup security in place.
You probably couldn't get easily hacked because the iPhone is so advanced in its security, but it's not hard to imagine. It's a videogame, so its easy to get hacked - look at Steam. I'm no expert, I'm just glad Apple is continuing to restrict bad things on the platform. Can't wait for the next iPad.
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