Harden your iPhone against thieves
Dr. Martin Shelton
February 1, 2024
Illustration by Olivia Martin.
It’s the Digital Security Training team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), with security news that keeps you, your sources, and your devices safe. If someone has shared this newsletter with you, please subscribe here.
Thieves don’t just steal iPhones for the hardware — they may also want access to banking apps and Apple Pay to facilitate fraudulent transfers and purchases. Here’s the playbook: Thieves first convince a target to share their passcode, or else shoulder surf (observe someone enter their passcode). If they then get hold of the iPhone, they will quickly enter this passcode and transfer money from banking apps to their accounts, sometimes locking the victim out of their Apple ID by changing the passcode and even disabling the “Find My” feature. In its new iOS 17.3 update, Apple introduced an important new security feature designed to slow down thieves by delaying their ability to change your passcode or “Find My” settings, and requiring additional biometrics such as Face ID or Touch ID before someone can change those and other sensitive security settings. Read more.
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Best,
Martin