A day before Microsoft announced its July 2018 security updates, Apple announced its own. This month, the Cupertino-based company released updates for products including macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS, Safari, iCloud for Windows, and iTunes for Windows.
The company also released security updates for Boot Camp, SwiftNIO, and XCode.
USB Restricted Mode is released with iOS 11.4.1
Most of the updates are bug fixes for security-related flaws. But new features have also been introduced. The most anticipated security feature, however, is the addition of “USB Restricted Mode” in iOS 11.4.1.
The new USB Restricted Mode is a feature that disables the USB port on iOS devices after an hour. To re-enable it, the user must enter the phone's security code.
Apple introduced this feature as part of a security measure to prevent certain software companies from selling “iPhone unlocking” technology. One such company is Cellebrite, a company that sold such a tool to the FBI. Another is GrayShift, which a few months ago began mass-producing a technology called GrayKey at a low price that made it economically viable for police departments around the world.
Last month, Apple introduced USB Restricted Mode in iOS beta, but that didn't seem to worry GrayShift, as it hinted that it has a new way to deal with this Apple security feature.
USB Restricted Mode has already been bypassed.
Yesterday, hours after Apple announced the release of iOS 11.4.1, software company Elcomsoft published a blog post about a workaround for the security feature.
The company says that by plugging any USB device into an iOS device, it can prevent the feature from triggering the one-hour limit and leaving the user's phone/tablet's USB port open and vulnerable to attacks from Cellebrite and GrayShift equipment.
USB Restricted Mode is disabled by default, and users will need to consult their iOS device settings to enable it – under the Touch ID & passcode section and under the USB Accessories label.
