I really wish there was a feature to lock the phone upon rapid movement, such as when a thief snatches the device while it is in use. It seems like an obvious mitigation to a common problem by way of the built in accelerometer.
Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
61–70 of 74 posts
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#62I really wish there was a feature to lock the phone upon rapid movement, such as when a thief snatches the device while it is in use. It seems like an obvious mitigation to a common problem by way of the built in accelerometer.
Then he comes back and points a gun to your face, asking for the code.
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eh, fake receipts are fairly easy to knock out. When I managed a hospital's iPhone deployment I made it a point to always back up our receipts electronically because I have... had to make quite a few emails to AppleCare Security to release a few Activation Locked devices. It's not a terribly difficult process once you've done it a couple times, and I reasonably think I could release as many phones as I wanted these d…
with an MDM and Apple's Device Enrollment Program you don't even need to worry about this anymore[0] [0]: https://www.apple.com/mx/business-docs/DEP_Guide.pdf
Hah, no.
It's mind-bogglingly easy to bypass MDM/DEP on even a T2-enabled/Apple Silicon MacBook.
Like three minutes, and not overly complex. Without spelling it out here, null route three DNS entries, install macOS Monterey, edit /etc/hosts similarly, and then upgrade to Sonoma. You can even remove the null routing after (it's only needed to bypass network calls in the installer).
Nothing broken, no errors, 100% DEP-escaped.
I suspect that the only thing you can't do at that point is reset to the OOB experience for selling it.
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The Apple Genius went to get a manager or something and the manager checked the "proof of purchase" and then connected the iPhone to the store Wi-Fi and did some stuff on their iPad and rebooted the iPhone. The iPhone did a reset and then it was unlocked and ready to be setup without any hurdles. The thieves figured out you just need to know (or be) an employee of any of the 500+ Apple stores. I assume that some th…
A similarly-compromised front-line T-Mobile employee once enabled a "SIM-swap" on my active iPhone phone number. It was reported in T-Mobile's systems as my personal visit, with supporting documentation/ID, to one of their retail locations in Oklahoma – thousands of miles from anywhere I'd recently been. So, while remotely possible that their employee gullibily-reviewed credible false documents, it seemed far more li…
They were 100% lying. It's even on Apple's website: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201441
"If you need help removing Activation Lock and have proof of purchase documentation, you can start an Activation Lock support request."
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#65After a iPhone theft in Europe earlier this year, I don't quite trust Apple's assurances with regard to stolen iPhones. My phone was snatched from my hands in the street. I was able to wipe it via 'Find Devices' within a few minutes; I was able to track its location for the rest of the day, until I requested that my carrier irrevocably disable its network service. There was no evidence of any accesses of my informati…
That seems like a very big deal if true. Very interested too if someone has more information. I could imagine they may be able to reuse the phone by changing parts, but how would that remove it from your Apple account?
From the reports in this thread, it seems that front-line Apple employees presented with a reasonable-looking (even if forged) "proof of purchase" can re-enable a device registered to another person's account. Perhaps, that yanks it from the previously-registered account.
That's my best guess as to what happened here.
The alternative, that the thieves fully compromised my account via obtaining my Apple password and circumventing the various secondary checks via my other devices, seems very unlikely to me.
There's been no evidence of unintended account accesses – like the confirmation challenges that pop-up on other devices. Unfortunately, Apple seems to lack the user-reviewable log of all authentication events that others like Google offer.
The sorts of compromises that would have revealed my password – like a keylogger on one of my primary Apple devices – should've shown up as other attacks on targets of more value than a single street-snatched several-years-old iPhone.
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
with an MDM and Apple's Device Enrollment Program you don't even need to worry about this anymore[0] [0]: https://www.apple.com/mx/business-docs/DEP_Guide.pdf
Hah, no. It's mind-bogglingly easy to bypass MDM/DEP on even a T2-enabled/Apple Silicon MacBook. Like three minutes, and not overly complex. Without spelling it out here, null route three DNS entries, install macOS Monterey, edit /etc/hosts similarly, and then upgrade to Sonoma. You can even remove the null routing after (it's only needed to bypass network calls in the installer). Nothing broken, no errors, 100% DEP-…
Interesting.
Nothing similar for iPads and iPhones? Except jailbreak.
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#67This is fantastic to see, although bitter-sweet considering I just had my phone and Apple ID stolen in August. I suspect the thief was watching as I unlocked my phone and got the passcode that way, although I was drugged and have amnesia (worst Tinder date ever) so it's possible I unlocked the phone for her.
However they got the passcode, it was enough to immediately change the 'trusted phone number' with Apple and lock me out of my account. Even after hours on the phone with Apple Support explaining the situation and offering to provide a police report and any documentation they wanted to verify my identity, the weren't able/willing to help me without that phone number. There have been numerous hassles to moving to a new Apple ID, including having to provide proof-of-purchase for all my other Apple devices to get them unlinked from the stolen account. But the worst by far was losing years worth of photos, which I foolishly trusted to be stored safe in iCloud and are now locked away from me and available to criminals.
This is a step in the right direction but I'd love for Apple to improve their policies around proving ownership of a stolen account. Even with this new protection, if you're ever robbed at gunpoint or coerced while drugged, your Apple ID can be taken and there's no path (that I've been able to find) to recover it.
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#68This is fantastic to see, although bitter-sweet considering I just had my phone and Apple ID stolen in August. I suspect the thief was watching as I unlocked my phone and got the passcode that way, although I was drugged and have amnesia (worst Tinder date ever) so it's possible I unlocked the phone for her. However they got the passcode, it was enough to immediately change the 'trusted phone number' with Apple and l…
It does sound like the worst Tinder date ever. What country or city were you in?
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#69This is fantastic to see, although bitter-sweet considering I just had my phone and Apple ID stolen in August. I suspect the thief was watching as I unlocked my phone and got the passcode that way, although I was drugged and have amnesia (worst Tinder date ever) so it's possible I unlocked the phone for her. However they got the passcode, it was enough to immediately change the 'trusted phone number' with Apple and l…
It does sound like the worst Tinder date ever. What country or city were you in?
This was in Mexico City. I've traveled there many times and generally feel very safe, but learned a valuable lesson in being overly trusting of new people.
I'm thankful to be alive, since I don't know what drug I was given and how much. And fortunately she left my passport so I was able to get home. But what a mess, I really can't recommend it.
Re: Apple's new iPhone security setting keeps thieves out of your digital accounts
#70After a iPhone theft in Europe earlier this year, I don't quite trust Apple's assurances with regard to stolen iPhones. My phone was snatched from my hands in the street. I was able to wipe it via 'Find Devices' within a few minutes; I was able to track its location for the rest of the day, until I requested that my carrier irrevocably disable its network service. There was no evidence of any accesses of my informati…
im going to add to this, long time ago my macbook was stolen when i was on holiday, i did all the things you mentioned, once i got back home i called Apple Support and they said "your warranty with us is over (it was 2 days lapsing from my travel) and to help you, you're going to need to buy apple care again" disgusting.