Apple has always said that it offers software that is private and secure for all users. The company has had to change its philosophy as threats to its users increase. Two new features are meant to help protect people facing very specific crises in their lives.
Safety Check and Lockdown Mode are very different tools, but Apple has built them into its latest mobile operating system release as a last resort.
Users who are at risk for or currently experiencing domestic abuse can use Apple's safety check feature. The tool makes it easier for users to manage and remove access to their location data and reset privacy-related permission by centralizing a number of controls. Lockdown Mode is meant for users who are at risk of being attacked by state-sponsored hacking. There are as few points of entry as possible because the feature restricts any non essential features. Apple's general security defenses haven't been able to keep up with the specialized threats that governments and repressive entities around the world have begun purchasing.
According to Thomas Reed, director of Mac and mobile platforms at the company, Lockdown Mode and Safety Check are good. Some people would say that this is just a token effort to silence critics, because people criticize Apple for not opening upiOS enough. I don't think so. I think the new features will help with the paradigm of Apple's current security model.
Major tradeoffs in Apple's approach to securingiOS are seen by many mobile security researchers. The mobile operating system is locked down and cannot be monitored like other operating systems. The benefit of this is that attackers are boxed out in the same way defenders are, but when they find a vulnerability, they can exploit it. Safety Check and Lockdown Mode is a necessary step in the creation of protective tools.
The more Apple locks down the operating system, the harder it is for the security research community to find vulnerabilities. It's commendable that Apple is taking steps to address security threats that are only ever likely to impact a tiny fraction of its users.
Safety Check can be used to take back some control over your home. Safety Check has a tool called Manage Sharing and Access that can be used by users who have concerns about other people having access to their data. The tool shows the people and apps that have access to different information, such as who is connected through Find My Friends or which apps can use a device's microphone. Users can review their security settings with the help of the guides. If you think someone has gotten access to your device and set it so you are easier to track, the Emergency Reset feature is a good idea. All access can be revoked at once, privacy can be reset, and you can limit where you can send and receive text messages.
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