SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Inc introduced a security tool for iPhone, iPad and Mac devices that is designed to prevent targeted cyberattacks on high-profile users such as activists, journalists and government officials.
The optional feature, called Lockdown Mode, will offer “extreme” protection for a “very small number of users who face grave, targeted attacks,” Apple said in a statement.
The tool vastly reduces the number of physical and digital ways for an attacker to hack a user’s device. Apple said the feature is aimed primarily at trying to combat attacks from “spyware” sold by NSO Group and other companies, particularly to state-sponsored groups.
Over the past several years, state-sponsored entities have hacked high-profile users by gaining remote access to data on their iPhones. Last year, Bloomberg News reported that a number of US State Department employees were hacked and notified by Apple.
In November, Apple sued NSO Group, saying the Israel-based company develops tools like Pegasus spyware to abuse and harm Apple users.
Apple said a small number of its users have been targeted by such attacks across 150 countries. The iPhone maker recently put in place a feature that notifies users who are the subject of state-sponsored cyberattacks. That notification system will be updated to inform those people about the new Lockdown Mode, Apple said.
Lockdown Mode will affect the Messages app, FaceTime, Apple online services, configuration profiles, the Safari web browser and wired connections.
With the tool in place, the Messages app will block attachments other than images and disable link previews. Those are two common mechanisms that hackers use to infiltrate devices remotely.
The web browser, another frequent conduit for hackers, will also be severely limited, with restrictions on certain fonts, web languages and features involving reading PDFs and previewing content.
In FaceTime, users won’t be able to receive calls from an individual that they haven’t previously called within the preceding 30 days.
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