Apple Patches Yet Another Phone-Crashing Text Bug

We’ve recently seen a series of bugs on iOS and macOS devices that all follow a similar pattern: maliciously-formed links or simple emojis and text strings that cause the device to lock up and crash, sometimes repeatedly. A number of these issues have been fixed over the lifespan of the iPhone, but the past few months has seen a spike in the number of issues in this class requiring patches from Apple to fix. One of the most notable bugs from last year was a bug in the Messages app …

The Checklist 77: Mix and Match Part II

As 2018 continues, so does the flood of new stories, threats, and developments in the security world. Just recently, we reached into the grab bag to take a quick look at a variety of different stories; this week, we’re going back again to pull out a mixture of the most prominent topics making a splash in the headlines over the past couple of weeks. From the consequences of tracking your exercise with an app to the pitfalls of perfectly proper grammar, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover in today’s show

iPhone Source Code Leak Could Open the Floodgates for Hackers

A key piece of Apple’s iPhone source code may be out in the wild.

On February 7, someone posted something called “iBoot” on GitHub. GitHub is a popular site for sharing computer code. This time, though, it appears the code in question was not the user’s to share. Instead, “iBoot” is said to be the source code for a crucial iPhone boot process. The leak has the potential to jeopardize the security of the iPhone going forward.

According to a report on the leak from Motherboard, iBoot is the …

The Checklist 76: Apple Watch and Security

Way back in 2007, Apple released the iPhone and changed the world overnight by putting the power of an iPod, a phone, and the Internet right in our pockets. The iPhone quickly relegated the iPod to the annals of history, and for better or worse, it all but killed the wristwatch too. Then Apple decided it was time to bring the watch back to life — and thus, the Apple Watch was born.

Popular MacUpdate Website Hacked to Distribute Crypto Miner

Keeping the software on your Mac up to date is essential, particularly because it can help to keep you safe from new threats and vulnerabilities. We’ve seen the emergence of a new type of malware that’s hitting Mac users through a service used to streamline the updating process, MacUpdate. A popular site for many years, MacUpdate acts like a “one stop shop” for software updates, allowing users to grab updated copies of their favorite software quickly. Unfortunately, it looks like several apps on the site were compromised and pushed malware …

The Checklist 75: Mix and Match

Spectres, Meltdowns, and an endless parade of patches — 2018’s already off to quite a start, and it can all be just a little overwhelming. This week, we’re pulling back to the bigger picture and reaching into the grab bag for a Mix & Match episode as we cover a slew of stories from this past month!

Apple Pushes Range of Updates for Quality of Life and Security

Alongside Apple’s recent updates to macOS Sierra and OS X El Capitan to address the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, the final week of January also saw the release of a variety of other incremental updates for most of Apple’s products. Typically, Apple does not disclose detailed descriptions of the security vulnerabilities they fix in these updates, preferring to speak in vague terms to avoid exposing attack vectors that are still open on un-patched systems. However, we do know a little about what went into some of these updates besides …

Checklist 73: Meltdown, Spectre and You!

On today’s edition of The Checklist, we’re tackling the complex topics of Spectre and Meltdown, arguably two of the biggest and most far-reaching security vulnerabilities we’ve ever seen. Among those impacted are everyone from iOS and macOS users to Windows machines and just about anything powered by an Intel processor around the world!

Checklist 72: 2017 Security Review Part Two

Last week, we brought you Part One of our 2017 Security Year in Review. This week, we’ll wrap that up with Part Two! If you didn’t get a chance to check out Part One yet, the episode and its accompanying show notes are available right here in our archives. In it, you’ll find out about the highlights of the past year in both iOS and macOS security, including all the information you need to know about what the bad guys were up to in 2017. This week, we’re pulling back …

Checklist 71: 2017 Security Review Part One

For this, Episode 71 of The Checklist, we sat down during the first week of January 2018 to put a magnifying glass over the year that just ended. For part one of our discussion, we’re taking an in-depth look at the biggest security issues that affected macOS and iOS in 2017. With so many things going on — and there were quite a lot — it can be tough to remember all the details. To start our recap, we’ll go all the way back to this time one year ago: the beginning of January.

Apple Confirms Fixes for Major CPU Vulnerability, More on the Way

Apple has confirmed that a pair of critical security vulnerabilities uncovered by security researchers late in 2017, and now filtering out into media reports, does affect “all Mac systems and iOS devices.” These bugs, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, affect the clear majority of computers and a vast number of mobile devices, regardless of make, model, or manufacturer. Though tricky to exploit, these bugs could allow an attacker untraceable access to a wide variety of user data.

By exploiting a weakness in an advanced function within the processor, Meltdown allows …

Checklist 70: Apple’s No Good Very Bad Security Quarter

For more than a year, we’ve been taking a little time every week here at The Checklist to bring you a podcast focused on and around the security of the Mac, iOS devices, and the Apple platform in general. We all know that was silly, though — after all, there aren’t any major security problems with Apple, right?

There is no such thing as 100% safe & secure, although it has indeed been the case that Apple systems experience fewer major vulnerabilities and problems than their counterparts, generally speaking. …

Checklist 69: When Kids Are Targeted

In Episode 68, we spent some time talking about all the ways the bad guys can try to target the elderly online and over the phone. This week, we’re running all the way down to the other end of the age spectrum to look at the ways troublesome bad actors might target your kids. We’ll also discuss how these nefarious rogues may set their sights on your children as a way to target you, the parent, as their endgame.

Checklist 68: Scams That Target the Elderly

As we went into Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, we urged you to have some proactive talks with your family about how to stay safe while using their computers, especially on the Internet. We also covered how you could take action to lay the groundwork to make sure everything stays in good working order. Now, as we head deeper into the holidays, we’d like to ask our listeners to keep an ear out as we return home once more to spend time with our extended families.

Previously, our discussions …

Apple Patches Potentially Serious Vulnerability in HomeKit with iOS 11.2.1

In a world filled with “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices, there are security holes everywhere. Apple works hard on the hardened nature of its HomeKit system and the way these third-party devices interface with Apple products. So when news broke in early December that someone had uncovered a zero-day exploit that could allow an attacker to take control of a user’s devices through the Home app, it made headlines across the web.

Though the exact details of the exploit were not released publicly and were described as tough to replicate, this …

Checklist 67: The Latest Security Features in iOS 11: Part Two

Recently, in episode 66, we looked at the latest security features Apple has built into macOS. Last week, we began to explore what’s new and different in iOS 11. While the basics of iOS haven’t changed in some time, time and different development approaches mean that all kinds of features transform behind the scenes with every update. We looked at the innovative FaceID system, improvements to backup security, and new physical security features. This week, we’re returning to the topic of iOS 11 for one more dive into what’s …

Quick Tweaks to Improve Your Privacy on iOS 11

iOS 11 has been out for a few months now, and Apple’s latest flagship iPhone versions have also launched in its wake. By now, you should hopefully have made the upgrade to this newer software platform. Whether you’re just upgrading now, or you’ve been getting comfortable with iOS 11 for a few months now, you’ll find that iOS 11 puts plenty of tools within your reach to improve your device’s security and privacy. Here’s what you can do to make your device even safer.

Checklist 66: The Latest Security Features in iOS 11: Part One

Have we ever talked about the security features built into iOS itself? Of course — we’ve covered that subject in many previous episodes, but things change. When The Checklist began, users were still walking around with iOS 9. Now we’re up to iOS 11, and Apple continues to make things more secure as they go. Even before iOS 11, Apple’s mobile system had some serious security protections and features, but they’ve added some new ones and refined others, so it’s time to revisit the topic.

“Trusted Devices” Can Create a False Sense of Security

In the enterprise world, device security is of paramount importance. We’ve seen no end to the number of stories where companies have suffered breaches due to inadequate internal security, suffering substantial business and financial consequences in the process. As a result, securing the technology used by employees and offices is an important step undertaken by many companies today. With the “walled garden” Apple offers in iOS combined with its track record for very rigorous security, many companies have made the switch. More than three-quarters of all enterprises have some …

Elcomsoft Focuses on Apple’s 2 Factor Authentication in Latest Release

The security built into our phones enables us to use them with confidence and peace of mind; after all, it is vital that we prevent unauthorized access to devices that contain so much personal information about our lives. However, these same safeguards also prevent barriers to law enforcement and important criminal investigations that may center around what data resides on the device. We’ve already seen several issues like this in the past few years, and Apple’s stance remains firm: it will not help law enforcement break into a user’s device.

While …