+++
title = “SHOCKING: Your iPhone Could Be Tracked by HACKERS Even When It’s OFF - Here’s How to Protect Yourself!”
date = 2021-11-03
[taxonomies]
tags = [“iPhone”, “hackers”, “cybersecurity”]
+++
In today’s digital age, smartphones have become an essential part of our lives. We use them for everything from communicating with loved ones to conducting business operations. For iPhone users, the device’s security features offer some level of protection against hackers. However, recent studies indicate that hackers can still track your iPhone even when it’s turned off. This revelation is shocking and should concern every iPhone user. To protect yourself, here’s what you need to know.
The Vulnerability
The shocking discovery that hackers can track your iPhone originated from a security researcher, Fabian Braunlein, who identified loopholes in the iPhone’s power management system. These loopholes enable cybercriminals to target specific models of iPhones and access their location data, even when the device is powered off.
This occurrence works through the use of an external power source, where hackers can connect the iPhone to it via a lightning cable, allowing them to bypass the protection measures. Once connected, the device can be powered on without the owner’s knowledge, allowing hackers to retrieve all of its data remotely. This vulnerability affects iPhone models 5 and above, running iOS 7.0 through 13.3.
How to Protect Yourself
While the vulnerability is alarming, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from hackers tracking your iPhone. Here are some tips:
1. Update Your iPhone’s Operating System
Regular updates are necessary for your iPhone’s safety, and it’s essential to download and install them once they’re available. Updates offer essential security patches that protect your device from vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.
2. Keep Your iPhone Close
Since hacker’s need physical access to the iPhone for successful tracking, it’s vital to keep your phone on you at all times, avoiding leaving it out in the open.
3. Use a Password
Adding a password to your iPhone keeps hackers from easily accessing the device, especially in case it gets lost or stolen. The password should be strong and a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters, making it difficult to guess.
4. Install Anti-Malware Software
Anti-malware software protects your iPhone from malware and other digital threats, especially if you’re prone to downloading apps from unknown sources. The software protects your device from malicious programs that hackers can use to track your iPhone.
Conclusion
The fact that hackers can track your iPhone even when it’s turned off is shocking, but this doesn’t mean all hope is lost. With the right security measures in place, you can protect yourself and your device from unwanted tracking. Combining regular updates, keeping your iPhone close, and utilizing anti-malware or password protection are just a few of many strategies available to combat hacker tracking. So, be vigilant and put in place these measures to protect yourself and your private information on your iPhone.
Even shutting down your iPhone might not keep it safe from hackers, but experts say most people don’t have much to worry about.
- Researchers have found that iPhones can be vulnerable to security threats even when powered off. When an iPhone’s power is off, wireless chips, including Bluetooth, run using low power mode. Malicious actors can take advantage of the reduced power mode to use malware.
Researchers at Germany’s Technical University of Darmstadt have found that iPhones can be vulnerable to security threats even when powered off. Wireless chips, including Bluetooth, run using low power mode when the power is off. Malicious actors can take advantage of the reduced power mode to use malware.
“When a user shuts down their device through the phone’s menu or power button, they have a reasonable belief that all the processors are shut down, but that’s not the case,” Eugene Kolodenker, a senior staff security intelligence engineer at the cybersecurity firm Lookout, which was not involved in the German study, told Lifewire in an email interview. “Services such as FindMy need to work even when the devices are shut off. This requires a processor to continue running.”
Zombie iPhones
The German researchers examined the iPhone’s low-power mode (LPM) that powers near-field communication, ultra-wideband, and Bluetooth.
“The current LPM implementation on Apple iPhones is opaque and adds new threats,” the researchers wrote in the paper. “Since LPM support is based on the iPhone’s hardware, it cannot be removed with system updates. Thus, it has a long-lasting effect on the overall iOS security model. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first who looked into undocumented LPM features introduced in iOS 15 and uncover various issues.”
Kolodenker explained that modern mobile devices consist of many different computer processors. Generally, people who interact the most when using a smartphone are the application processor (AP) and the baseband processor (BP).
“These are what runs most of the operating system and call capability,” he added. “However, there are numerous additional processors now in phones, such as the Secure Enclave Processor and the Bluetooth Processor on iPhones. These processors can be exploited much like the AP and BP.”
Don’t worry too much about threats when your phone is powered off, though. “The bright side is that threats targeting stand-by processors that are running when a device is shut down are theoretical,” Kolodenker said.
Thomas Reed, the director of Mac & Mobile at Malwarebytes, a maker of anti-malware software, said in an email that there’s no known malware using BLE firmware compromise to remain persistent when the phone is ‘off.’
He added that “further, unless you are likely to be targeted by a nation-state adversary—for example, if you are a human rights advocate or journalist critical of an oppressive regime—you’re not likely to ever run into this kind of problem,” he added. “If you actually are a potential target for a nation-state adversary, don’t trust that your phone is ever truly off.”
If you need to not be tracked for a while, leave your phone in a location where it’s reasonable to expect you might spend some time.
Andrew Hay, the chief operating officer of LARES Consulting, an information security consulting firm, said via email that for the average user, this “threat” will not impact them in the slightest as it is only present on a jailbroken iPhone.
“A user has to go out of their way to jailbreak their iPhone, and a number of past academic studies/discoveries rely on that fact,” he added. “If a user wants to be as safe as possible, they should continue to use the official (and tested) operating systems, apps, and features provided by the device manufacturer.”
Protecting Yourself
Keeping your phone data safe from hackers takes more than a tap of the power button, Reed pointed out. For victims of domestic violence, Reed said that if you’re in a situation where an abuser monitors your location, you should be aware that turning off your phone will not stop the tracking.
“For those in such situations, we advise seeking help, as disabling the tracking could have bad consequences,” he added. “If you need to not be tracked for a while, leave your phone in a location where it’s reasonable to expect you might spend some time.”
Marco Bellin, the CEO of Datacappy, which makes security software, said the only way to truly protect yourself is to use a Faraday cage, which blocks all signals from your phone.
“The problem is that most people will never use one,” he added. “They are encumbering because they don’t allow your phone access to communication. There is no phone, text, or social media notification, and most people will forego their safety for convenience. I use one only for travel, but I’ll be using it more often now.”
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