Not Because Of The COVID Pandemic Apple Launches Lockdown Mode, But This Is The Cause!

Apple launches Lockdown Mode feature. (photo: pixabay doc)

JAKARTA - Apple Inc on Wednesday, July 6 said it plans to release a new feature called "Lockdown Mode" this fall. This new feature aims to add a new layer of protection for human rights defenders, political dissidents and other targets from sophisticated hacking attacks.

The move comes after at least two Israeli companies have exploited a flaw in Apple's software to remotely break into iPhones without the target needing to click or tap anything.

NSO Group, the maker of the "Pegasus" software that can carry out such attacks, has been sued by Apple and put on a trade blacklist by US officials.

“Lock Mode” will appear on Apple's iPhones, iPads and Macs this fall and if users turn it on it will block most attachments sent to the iPhone's Messages app. Apple security researchers believe the NSO Group could exploit a weakness in the way Apple handles message attachments. The new mode will also block wired connections to iPhone when it's locked.

Apple's representative in Israel said they believe sophisticated attacks designed to counter the new feature, the so-called "zero click" hacking technique, are still relatively rare and most users won't need to enable this new mode.

The NSO Group, a spyware company, argues that they are selling the high-tech to help governments thwart national security threats. But human rights groups and journalists have repeatedly documented the use of spyware to attack civil society, weaken political opposition, and interfere with elections.

To help amplify the new features, Apple said it would pay up to $2 million for each flaw that security researchers could find in the new mode, which Apple representatives say is the highest "bug bounty" the industry has to offer.

Apple also said it would provide a $10 million grant, plus possible proceeds from its lawsuit against the NSO Group, to the group that discovers, exposes, and works to prevent targeted hacks.

Apple said the grant would go to the Dignity and Justice Fund, set up by the Ford Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States.