Apple, a consumer tech giant, is planning to roll out a new ‘Lockdown’ option for its products, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This feature would be added to protect the Apple devices from state-sponsored hackers who release spyware. However, as per an AP report, the Apple devices with Lockdown activated would make them less usable.
This simply means one thing. Apple, which is recognised as one of the tech companies with the safest products, hasn’t been able to adequately shield iPhones, Macs and iPads. But let’s cut some slack to Apple here as we are talking about hackers who are state-sponsored and are very knowledgeable about what they are doing. To protect its products from state-backed hackers and commercial spyware, Apple will give an option to the users to use the Lockdown safeguard. Privacy rights of journalists, human rights activists and more have been violated in the past, and that’s why Apple has introduced this.
Lockdown Mode Feature Currently Not Completely Ready
The report mentioned that Apple would initially offer it as a test version which will allow the security researchers to identify the weaknesses and bugs in the feature. The feature might come to the iPhones with the iOS 16.
Governments across the world have been purchasing phone hacking tools and software from private companies such as Israel’s NSO Group.
Apple had also filed a federal lawsuit against NSO Group last year for allegedly breaking into iPhones and other products. The lockdown feature might not be for the use of everyone. But it will certainly help a small section of society and is more of an emergency button in nature.
With the Lockdown mode on, users won’t be able to send links in texts and neither will they be able to receive FaceTime calls from new numbers. Web browsing experience will also be very limited.
Journalists, activists and more such people will benefit a lot from the lockdown feature.
