Apple is constantly striving to improve the security of its iPhones, with one of the more robust features being that a stolen device becomes equivalent to a paperweight if the passcode or password cannot be remembered. As for the latest one that is baked into iOS 18.1, law enforcement personnel were probably scratching their heads when they witnessed various iPhone models mysteriously rebooting, but that is just another clever approach the Cupertino giant employed to prevent the police from breaking into these handsets.
A new report says that the latest iOS 18.1 feature is called ‘inactivity reboot,’ which restarts the iPhone if it has not been unlocked for a certain period
This peculiar behavior does not mean that a bug is affecting an iPhone, but a safety feature that Apple implemented in iOS 18.1 called ‘inactivity reboot,’ at least that is what Jiska Classen, a research group leader at the Hasso Plattner Institute, is calling it. As reported by 404 Media, Christopher Vance, a forensic specialist at Magnet Forensics, who is part of a group chat, mentions below that some code that has been identified in iOS 18 and higher that is an activity time that will force iPhones in an AFU state to reboot into a BFU state.
Apple indeed added a feature called “inactivity reboot” in iOS 18.1. This is implemented in keybagd and the AppleSEPKeyStore kernel extension. It seems to have nothing to do with phone/wireless network state. Keystore is used when unlocking the device.https://t.co/ONZuU9zVt2 https://t.co/4ORUqR6P6N pic.twitter.com/O3jijuqpN0
— Jiska (@naehrdine) November 8, 2024
“We have identified code within iOS 18 and higher that is an inactivity timer. This timer will cause devices in an AFU state to reboot to a BFU state after a set period of time which we have also identified.”
For those who do not know, AFU, or After First Unlock, is when someone has unlocked the device at least once since getting into it, which makes it typically easier for the police to unlock. BFU, or Before First Unlock, is when a user has not unlocked the phone since it was turned on, making it difficult to access. Chris Wade, the founder of mobile analysis company Corellium, told 404 Media that after four days, the iPhone is in a locked state and reboots, meaning that the cops have to start from scratch.
For those who believe that this implementation is to deter the police from carrying out their duties, Matthew Green, a cryptographer and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, says that Apple specifically targets thieves and other individuals with nefarious intentions. He also says that ‘inactivity reboot’ is a major improvement in protecting the security of iPhone users.
“Remember that the real threat here is not police. It’s the kind of people who will steal your iPhone for malign purposes. This feature means that if your phone gets stolen, the thieves can’t nurse it along for months until they develop the tech to crack it. I would bet that rebooting after a reasonable inactivity period probably doesn’t inconvenience anyone, but does make your phone a lot more secure. So it seems like a pretty good idea.”
As you would expect, law enforcement does not express the same views, with Christopher Vance from Magnet Forensics informing the police members of the group chat to make it their top priority to collect evidence from AFU iOS 18 devices before they reboot. Obviously, that is easier said than done, and unless the technology has been developed to crack the iPhone in less than four days, we can safely say that these handsets are safe. Then again, even if the tools are made to unlock these devices quicker, Apple could simply adjust the timer and make sure that iPhones reboot in one or two days instead of four.
News Source: 404 Media
