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Perhaps Apple uses Siri to track the drawer?

"Siri, why are we $50,000 short in the drawer today?"

"I don't know what you mean by short in the drawer today... here's what I found online for short in the drawer today."

"No Siri, in the register drawer... accounting... accounting"

"I don't know what you mean by register drawer... accounting... accounting... here's what I found online for register drawer... accounting... accounting"

;)

But more seriously: sounds like "Issac" needs some touchID or faceID.
The Isaac's are iphone XS models so they could theoretically but I've haven't checked to see if I could add my face to one but then every person would need to be assigned an Isaac.
 
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Article title also states 13 years, but the article itself states it was about 8 years (60 months for one, 37 months for the other). Also I'm bothered by the use of "combined years" regarding sentencing. 100 people getting one year has a very different feel than "getting 100 combined years in prison".
I was going to say the same thing. I don't understand the reasoning behind using "combined years," as it's unclear (and, in this case, inaccurate). At first, I thought it meant that each person received 13 years, but maybe got 13 years on one charge and, say, 5 years on another charge, but they were to be served concurrently.
 
How long do you think it takes to get caught, arrested, tried and sentenced? This crime probably took place 5 years ago. People are asking about security, you dont think the security around these devices and inside Apple Stores electronically wouldn't have been changed in 5 years? They knew what was happening quickly...they waited so they could catch them with enough evidence to make a prosecution stick. The devices used then, and the devices in use now are probably entirely different from a hardware and software point of view.
 
The Isaac’s use iPhones still don’t they? I’d have thought implementing FaceID into the terminal would make sense rather than having them sit there unlocked in the store.
Yes, they are iPhones. They have no modifications. They run the same iOS as every other iPhone.

Every "Isaac" device in the store (iPhone) uses the exact same passcode to access the device.
Only when you open the POS app (or any internal app) do you then have to log in with your staff Apple ID.
You can use a password or swipe gesture. It automatically logs you out of the app frequently and you need a manager to type their login every time you want to give ANY sort of discount.

This article is extremely vague. The scam would have been much more sophisticated.

Also, the department that builds internal apps (IS&T) is well known to be… subpar, in their development skills (proof here: https://9to5mac.com/2020/04/07/book-calls-apples-ist-group-a-game-of-thrones-nightmare/). Apple's internal software is nothing like the software consumers get to use.

The reason I say this is that IS&T don't ever modify the OS, they just build apps for internal use.

The way biometrics authentication works in iOS is that the OS records the biometrics data (be that FaceID or TouchID) of the device owner in the Settings app. When apps want to verify the user they call an API (essentially a piece of software accessible system-wide) to ask the system to prompt the user for biometrics verification and return the result to the app (notice how every app that uses FaceID/TouchID uses the same interface; because it's the system doing the process, not the app).

So for Apple to implement TouchID in the app they would need to add each employee's fingerprint to every device (there are a lot more employees and "Isaac's" at each store than you'd expect) and considering iOS only lets you add 5 fingers, well, yep, wouldn't work. Same for FaceID.

It would be nice though! It's a shame IS&T sucks (some tools they make are nice though).
 
You would think that the ISAAC would not generate a digital gift code until it gets a payment source and that payment source was charged.
Exactly. It won't. Not without a manager logging in on that exact device for each transaction to approve a price override.

Then it would also show up in sales reports. Something is missing here.
 
"According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas..."

The irony. Isn't this the same area that Apple, and pretty much any company with money, get's sued by patent trolls.
 
Exactly. It won't. Not without a manager logging in on that exact device for each transaction to approve a price override.

Then it would also show up in sales reports. Something is missing here.

Alot is missing...details to a crime are probably not good to put out there...lol
 
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USA judicial system is quite bizarre. 13 years is basically a sentence for killing someone in most countries. I'm impressed how people spend time in jail for nonsense things. No wonder it has the most jailed people in the world. The fact they already are paying fines and restitution should give them no more than 5 years in jail. This is kinda broken.
 
Might have been a little easier in the current day if that exploit (which they had to have used some sort of exploit in the system other than having access to the device) existed today. Without reading any of the specifics, I imagine they mainly used footage from the stores to ID these people. Mask mandates would have helped with that.
 
there are a lot more employees and "Isaac's" at each store than you'd expect
Is there enough Isaacs for each floor/sales team member to have one so they could enrol with the device at the start of a shift and then hold onto the single unit, or no? Biometrics seems feasible if the staff will use the one device for the shift. If they’re sharing devices then yeah, enrolling for biometric doesn’t seem feasible.
 
6 1/2 years in prison sounds a bit harsh doesn’t it? These guys are probably quite young. Their lives will be destroyed by this.
 
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Once the scammers bought something flagged as fraud, it would be very easy to track that device. Criminals not so smart.
 
While tecnically different, people use the terms interchangeably. I don't think anyone's confused by it 😉

Not everyone. Jail is more like a smaller police precinct jails, whereas prison is the long-term facilities with high walls, showers, basketball courts, etc. Prisoners "live" at a prison for months or years. Those in a jail cell typically only stay there for hours, days or weeks at the most.
 
"According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas..."

The irony. Isn't this the same area that Apple, and pretty much any company with money, get's sued by patent trolls.
I believe that’s the Eastern District of Texas you’re thinking of.
 
Where are the days when Apple used a Microsoft payment device to charge the customers in the stores. (back in 2008 or so when the Mac VS PC was on TV)
 
Not everyone. Jail is more like a smaller police precinct jails, whereas prison is the long-term facilities with high walls, showers, basketball courts, etc. Prisoners "live" at a prison for months or years. Those in a jail cell typically only stay there for hours, days or weeks at the most.

Yes, that's the technical difference I was alluding to. But, again, I don't think anyone - given the context of the nature and extent of the crime(s) - is thinking these guys are spending the night in the Mayberry jail, lol! They understand that the term is being used anonymously with "prison" here.
 
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