iOS 7 security update patches lockscreen flaw

September 27, 2013 09:16 AM ETNetwork World - Apple yesterday released an iOS 7 software update that fixes a security flaw that let users bypass the iPhone lockscreen to access a range of onboard information and online accounts.

IOS 7.0.2 seems to be mainly a security patch, but the update screen also says there is a new Greek alphabet keyboard option for entering a passcode.

A day after iOS 7 was released earlier this month, Forbes' Andy Greenberg reported that a U.S. soldier had somehow uncovered a rather complex series of actions that let him bypass the lockscreen, at least on existing iPhones that updated to the new firmware.

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The actions involved swiping upwards on the lockscreen to bring up the iOS Control Center, then opening the alarm clock app, then holding down the power button to show the "power off" and "cancel" options, then tapping "cancel," and finally quickly double-clicking the home button to bring up the multitasking screen for various apps.

According to Greenberg's account, the user could then access the phone's camera and stored photographs and, more importantly, the ability to share the photos via various associated accounts, and therefore access them: including email, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

John Cox covers wireless networking and mobile computing for Network World.Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnwcoxnwwEmail: john_cox@nww.com

Read more about software in Network World's Software section.

Reprinted with permission from NetworkWorld.com. Story copyright 2012 Network World, Inc. All rights reserved.

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iOS 7 lock-screen bypass allows access to photos, contacts, social networking

Settle into your seats for the Return of the Lock-Screen Bypass, Part XVII: The iOS 7-ing. Once again, someone's figured out a way to access data from your iPhone or iPad without entering your lock code. (You do have a lock code, don't you?) As for what makes this time different from all other times, it's the first instance of a bug of this type in Apple's newest OS.

The trick was discovered by Jose Rodriguez, who also discovered similar bugs in iOS 6. In this case, it requires using the new Control Center feature to get into the Clock app, and then uses a bit of fleet-fingered dexterity to bring up the multitasking interface. From there, you'll see images of the other apps you recently had open, though most will have blank screens (pictured above). The only ones that can actually be brought to the foreground are those that Control Center can open, including the Calculator, Clock, and Camera.

[ Security expert Roger A. Grimes offers a guided tour of the latest threats and explains what you can do to stop them in "Fight Today's Malware," InfoWorld's Shop Talk video. | Keep up with key security issues with InfoWorld's Security Adviser blog and Security Central newsletter. ]

Of them, the Camera app is the most worrying: Despite not having entered the PIN, somebody using this method can access all the pictures you've taken; they can also send such pictures to themselves via the Share pane, as well as see your contacts by trying to Message or email pictures. And as I confirmed myself, they can also post images to Twitter or Facebook.

Apple, for its part, has told multiple news outlets that it's aware of the bug, which it says will be fixed in a future release. Until then, if you're concerned about the bug, it's best to disable access to Control Center from your lock screen in Settings > Control Center.

Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment in the Lock-Screen Bypass series, sure to hit a tech news site near you soon.

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