2024-01-09 13:03:37
A forensic institute supported by the government of China said he managed to break the security of the AirDrop and discover sensitive information about iPhone users, such as their phone numbers and email addresses. The informations are from Bloomberg.
Apple’s feature, available not only on the company’s smartphones but also on iPads and Macs, allows people to send files anonymously to other nearby devices via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Due to these characteristics, it has been widely exploited, according to the local government, to facilitate the sharing of content considered “inappropriate”.
This, it is worth noting, is not the first time that AirDrop has become the target of controversy in China. Last year, the Cupertino giant changed the resource’s reception settings to make it stay on for a maximum of ten minutes while the “All” option was selected — supposedly under pressure from the Chinese government. This adjustment, however, was soon expanded to other countries.
In an articleo Beijing Institute — the body responsible for hacking AirDrop — called the method a “technological innovation” and said it “improves the efficiency and accuracy of case resolution and prevents the spread of inappropriate comments, as well as possible bad influences.” The institute also said that the police have already managed to identify “multiple suspects” thanks to this technique, although it has not confirmed whether anyone has been arrested.
The agency, as expected, did not disclose how the method works, limiting itself to saying that it involves accessing the log encrypted from an iPhone. As noted by AppleInsiderthis implies that the institute or the police confiscated the devices, although this has not been confirmed either.
Apple also commented on the case.
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