Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iOS 7 Allows Siri to Disable Find My iPhone via Airplane Mode in Security/Convenience Trade-Off

Wow. Security flaw? Really? I'm surprised MR would go there with this.

BREAKING: A thief can disable "Find My iPhone" by removing the SIM card or powering off an iPhone. Case designers planning response with shackled cases blocking access to SIM card tray and home button.
 
MacRumors said:
Update: Commenters have noted that users can also turn Airplane Mode on from the Control Center by swiping up from the lock screen. Lock screen Control Center access can be disabled from the Settings/Control Center panel. Find My iPhone can also be effectively disabled by turning the phone off.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure we have been saying that "Find my iPhone can be effecitvely disabeled". Yes, while the phone is in this mode Apple cannot track the phone. However, the feature is still enabled on the device. If the device comes back online at any time, Find my iPhone would work again.
 
Superdrive said:
I had to frustratingly turn CC off on the lock screen for this reason. A pass code should be required for some tasks.

Edit: A code (if enabled) should be required to turn the phone off too.
Click to expand...

What about those times when your phone isn't responding properly and you have to do a hard reset on it? I'm not waiting for hours for my battery to die just so I can restart...
 
ominx said:
Wow. Security flaw? Really? I'm surprised MR would go there with this.

BREAKING: A thief can disable "Find My iPhone" by removing the SIM card or powering off an iPhone. Case designers planning response with shackled cases blocking access to SIM card tray and home button.
Click to expand...

Do the new cases also teather the device to the power grid, so the battery can never die either?
 
It's ok, no need to panic.

R8gTbe5.png
 
This is why Apple needs to test these devices in a way that a normal user won't use it. Most exploits are found trying to do something the app wasn't meant to do, or to be taken advantage of. I never trust a company to test/debug their own stuff, because they test it as it supposed to work. Hackers and people looking to break it test it as it's not supposed to work.
 
Unless I'm missing something, isn't Activation Lock active on the phone as long as Find My iPhone is turned on -- even if the phone is in Airplane Mode? I thought the whole idea behind Activation Lock was so that if a thief wipes the phone to try to sell it, they won't be able to get past having to enter the original user's Apple ID and password, right?

Or does the phone have to be pinged with the "You've been lost" message from Find My iPhone in order for Activation Lock to be engaged?

EDIT: Never mind. I needed to read further in the original story to get the answer to my question. It does seem that Activation Lock continues to stay intact even if Airplane mode is turned on and the phone is wiped. Not sure why this Airplane mode/Siri deal is even a story. Make sure Find My iPhone is enabled on your phone when you upgrade to iOS 7, folks.
 
It's not a flaw. It's the way that it was designed to work. A thief cannot sell a functional iPhone with iOS 7. When they wipe the phone they will need the password to the previous owner's Apple ID .
 
RRmalvado said:
I love all the apologists who are always hyper-rational when an Apple device has a flaw.
Click to expand...

There are a few flaws with iOS 7 that I will not "apologize" for. This however is functionality. People asked for siri to be able to activate system settings ... like Siri. Now that it is here, it's being sold as a security flaw... but in reality it doesn't DISABLE find my iPhone, like the story's headline claims.
 
This is retarded and should be deleted before it stirs up incorrect rumors. This is like saying "iPhones have a critical security flaw: THE SIM CARD CAN BE REMOVED BY SOMEONE OTHER THEN THE OWNER!"
 
Gotta get the ad revenue somehow on a busy day where every site and their dog are talking about iOS 7.
 
Wow. Nice horrible link bait headline there MacRumors. You guys usually do better than that.

I know 'Siri can be used to disable things while locked' is not near as cool a headline, but 'Disable find my iPhone?' nope. She goes 'Turn off what?' and won't touch it.

Airplane mode won't do it either, because of teh new changes (you do mention) but not nearly as bad as the headline makes it.
 
TheKrs1 said:
There are a few flaws with iOS 7 that I will not "apologize" for. This however is functionality. People asked for siri to be able to activate system settings ... like Siri. Now that it is here, it's being sold as a security flaw... but in reality it doesn't DISABLE find my iPhone, like the story's headline claims.
Click to expand...

Ok, so would it be better if the story read "Siri can activate Airplane Mode, which in turn disables Find My iPhone?

spyguy10709 said:
It's not a flaw. You could just turn the device off so why bother with Siri?
Click to expand...

Maybe Apple can implement an option, where if you have your Passcode enabled you need it to turn the phone off.

I know it's hard to find suitable solutions, but every so-called negative article about Apple does not have to come with an influx of people who want to defend Apple's EVERY move/slight.

Be objective, if it were up to you people MMS, Control Center, changing backgrounds, multitasking, etc. would not be in iOS.
 
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1638282/

I asked about this earlier today, but then I the sense to acknowledge it was a silly question ;-)
 
With new iOS7 Siri has gone a bit more intelligent.

Whats next?!

Siri becomes Dr. Evil and conquers the world! :p :p

photo.jpg
 
I've always found the Find My iPhone feature useful when I misplace my iPhone but I'm positive it is probably useless if it got stolen. A couple of family members got their phones stolen and were able to track the phone using this feature. The cops told them to open a police report and did nothing. The service provider (Sprint) said they couldn't do anything except disable the phone on their network. So unless you are willing to go into vigilante mode it is a useless feature for theft IMO.
 
With the 5S, surely it would be more practical to make it impossible to change anything without a fingerprint verification? It takes no more time than pressing the home button, which you have to press anyway to wake the device. Might as well not allow ANY action (Siri, Control Centre, power off, etc…) without a fingerprint.
 
Ok, so I disabled Control Center use on the Lock Screen and I disabled Siri use when the phone is locked. Problem solved.
 
Find my Iphone, can catch the bad guy...

A friend of mine had his phone and the rest off his stuff stolen when he went into to the pro-shop after his golf game. Local pro had him sign in with his appleID and he could see where the phone was going... 911 said, they actually had some free police resources, and they chased the guy through seattle, where he finally got out of the van and ran on foot. They recovered apparently thousands of dollars worth of stuff from the van, and the cops gave him his phone and stuff back, and they impounded the rest for evidence. It can work...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back