Apple unveils ‘Lockdown mode’ designed to better protect your iPhone and Mac from cyberattacks
Apple has today unveiled a brand new enhanced protection mode for its devices (iPhone, Mac, etc.). Called Lockdown mode, this new lock mode is ultra powerful and is specially designed to counter cyberattacks.
Apple today announced a brand new locking mode that will come to equip its iPhone, iPad and Mac. The Cupertino company wants to protect its high-level users with a new, extremely powerful mode of protection. This locking mode is indeed specially designed to counter cyberattacks. It will work on iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura.
By acting in this way, Apple wants to firmly counter the massive increase in threats developed by private companies that develop surveillance software, sometimes sponsored by States, such as Pegasus. The user can then activate this new locking mode himself if he suspects a cyberthreat.
Apple announces an all-new lockdown mode specifically designed for cyberattacks
Concretely, when this Lockdown mode will be activated, the defenses of the device will be much stronger and certain functionalities will be limited, so as to reduce as much as possible the attack attempts that could be carried out by spyware. Thereby, the device will for example block all attachments and images in messages and disable the preview. The same goes for shared albums in Photos. In addition to blocking message attachments, enabling Lockdown Mode will disallow link previews, invites, and Face Time calls from unknown senders.
Read also: Apple will alert you if your iPhone has been hacked by spyware
The mode will also disable some default web browsing technologies, and it will also shut down wired connections to computers or other accessories. “When the iPhone is in lock mode, it won’t work as usual. Applications, websites and features will be strictly limited for security reasons, and some functions will be unavailable ” clarified Apple.
The feature is primarily aimed at protecting people in high-profile jobs, who are often prime targets for spyware, such as politicians or journalists. This new lock mode will not be enabled by default. For this, you will have to go to Settingsthen in Privacy and Securityand finally in Lock Mode.
