Security

Pangu Team teases unpatchable SEP vulnerability at Mosec 2020

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 24, 2020

It was a pleasant surprise waking up this morning to learn that the Pangu Team had successfully pwned iOS 14 using their own proprietary exploits and demoed it at the Mosec 2020 conference. Although this jailbreak in particular isn’t likely to be released, it shows that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel despite Apple’s ongoing efforts to snuff out jailbreaking once and for all.

But an iOS 14 jailbreak wasn’t the only thing that the Pangu Team shared during their presentation. Team member @windknown also discussed details encompassing security research with Apple’s proprietary SEP (Secure Enclave Processor) chips, which are used for storing valuable data including Face ID & Touch ID information and passcode data, among other things of utmost confidentiality.

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Pangu Team demos working iOS 14 jailbreak at Mosec 2020

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 24, 2020

Apple’s upcoming iOS & iPadOS 14 software updates aren’t slated to be released until sometime this Fall, but that hasn’t stopped prominent jailbreak community hackers from getting their hands dirty with the developer pre-releases and working their usual magic.

The first example of an iOS 14 jailbreak was shared by the checkra1n team mere days after Apple teased the update at WWDC 2020, but this was expected as checkra1n utilizes a hardware-based bootrom exploit that can’t be patched with a software update. Early this morning, however, the Pangu Team took the stage at Mosec 2020 to demonstrate a working jailbreak of their own on the iOS 14 platform.

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How to protect access to Facebook Messenger on your iPhone or iPad with Face ID or Touch ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 12, 2023
Lock Messenger chats on iPhone

The Messenger app for iPhone and iPad includes a handy security feature that allows you to secure your chats from prying eyes. You can protect all your Facebook messages with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.

Follow along as we show you how to lock Facebook Messenger on your iPhone or iPad and adjust how quickly Messenger locks after you close the app.

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ScreenFreeze thwarts snooping when handing your iPhone to someone to share a photo

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 18, 2020

It’s not uncommon at all for someone to hand their iPhone to another person. Albeit a temporary action, this happens when someone wants another person to view a photo or video, try an app or game, or assist them with a troubleshooting matter. As common as this act is, a legitimate concern is what the person will do with your iPhone after you hand it to them.

If you’re among the group of people who get paranoid about someone rifling through your personal data upon handing them your iPhone, and you're certainly not alone, then you’ll probably come to appreciate the likes of a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed ScreenFreeze by iOS developer Greg0109.

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New tfp0 exploit supports Apple’s brand-new iOS & iPadOS 13.6 releases

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 16, 2020
Matrix code hacked iPhone.

When you’re an avid jailbreaker and you hear news about a new exploit that could potentially be used to jailbreak the latest version of iOS, then you tend to get excited about it. This response is only natural, especially given Apple’s rather conspicuous practice of rapidly releasing software updates to patch the very exploits hackers release in order to jailbreak iPhones and iPads alike.

With that in mind, jailbreakers might be particularly thrilled to learn that a new tfp0 exploit has been cooked up for Apple’s brand-new iOS & iPadOS 13.6 release, which was dropped to the public only yesterday afternoon. The news was first shared via Twitter user and security researcher @_Simo36 Thursday morning:

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Control iOS clipboard access on a per-app basis with NoClipboardForYou

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 6, 2020

I have a hard time trusting apps with my privacy as it is, but my worries run deeper when they’re realized by app makers that seemingly have zero interest in conserving user privacy, but rather harvesting user data for the sake of profit or surveillance.

Examples that struck irritating chords with me included learning that popular apps like LinkedIn and TikTok snooped on users’ clipboards without their permission. Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 update makes users more aware of app-centric clipboard access, but if you don’t plan to update because you’re jailbroken, then you can use a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called NoClipboardForYou by iOS developer shiftcmdk instead.

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