If the security forces provide it with a court order, Apple will remotely hack into the user’s iPhone without the user’s consent. This will affect devices with the minimum firmware version iOS 7 , of which there are now about 1 million. In the future, this innovation may be extended to mobile phones with a newer version of iOS.
Apple forgot about privacy
Apple has completely changed its attitude towards law enforcement agencies invading iPhone smartphones. According to Wired magazine, now she not only doesn't mind the security forces invading people's private spaces-she can also remotely unlock someone's iPhone in exchange for ordinary court orders.
’s updated Apple Law Enforcement Guidelines lists information about preparations for meetings with security forces. Two weeks ago, the company allowed itself to scan user photos and letters for prohibited content. No one will ask the user about this process.
Apple will start to provide police with access to the smartphones of people from all over the world
Therefore, the only way to prevent outsiders from accessing personal information is to not store it on the smartphone or use it up. The possibly long decryption key saves it in a password-protected and encrypted file.
Who will be affected by the innovation
When publishing this material, if only one condition is met, Apple is ready to remotely unlock someone’s iPhone after receiving the order. She will only take this step when the security forces need to "turn on" some old iPhone models whose firmware has not been updated for a long time.
Apple’s documentation does not list iPhones that will be unlocked at the request of security officials.Instead, it states that the iOS installed on them must not be higher than version 7.
Therefore, currently, Apple can approve the jailbreak of all its iPhones until iPhone 5S. These are seven models, six of which are equipped with iOS lower than version 7. iPhone 5S is equipped with this firmware by default, and the iPhone 6 in September 2014 is running iOS 8.
Only owners of iPhone 4S 5 and 5S can deprive Apple of providing security officials with access to their phones, because these devices can be officially updated to iOS 9.3.6, 10.3.4 and 12.5. 4. Respectively. iPhone 4 can run iOS 7.1.2 at most. For 3GS, the latest firmware is iOS 6.1.6, and for iPhone 3G, it is 4.2.1.
In other words, all iPhones updated to at least iOS 8 will not be hacked by Apple, even if the security forces bring it a corresponding arrest warrant. On the other hand, nothing prevents Apple from correcting the manual for the police and other departments again and writing it into it instead of iOS 7, such as iOS 14 . As of August 16, 2021, this is the latest stable version of Apple's mobile platform. The final version of iOS 15 will be released in the fall of 2021.
Number of potential victims of hacker attacks
Apple does not provide detailed statistics on the number of iPhone users based on specific iOS versions. It is understood that as of the end of the first quarter of 2021,Its mobile phone users have recorded approximately 1 billion visits worldwide.
There are still people using old iPhones all over the world. Apple's innovation may prompt them to switch to Android
According to data from the portal David-smith.org, at the beginning of August 2021, Apple smartphones with firmware lower than iOS 7 accounted for only 0.1% of the total. In terms of percentage, this is indeed not much, but in terms of quantity, it is 1 million mobile phones.
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