Any chance of a tl;dw synopsis?
The video takes a long time to say this:
There’s a new (and concerning) service known as “Plist FMI off” which appears to be able to unlock an iPhone that would otherwise be locked and useless to thieves.
Disabling iCloud lock / Find My iPhone lock should be something only possible by someone working from inside Apple – thus implying that there’s likely an insider involved in this. Or at the very least, a security flaw in Apple’s network that’s allowing this to happen.
The Youtuber seems to think that Apple should be forthcoming about declaring this vulnerability exists. IMHO, he is wrong to think that. Declaring the flaw before it’s been patched would only create a rash of iPhone thefts.
Ideally, Apple is now aware of this situation, and is doing internal investigations to correct it.
But to get to the point that the vulnerability is now being used as a service, doesn’t that mean it’s been there for a while?(I think he mentions that there’s another company that did a bunch of research on the service and the vulnerability for a long time), and if Apple hasn’t given any attention to this major security problem how else will they get pressured into working on a fix? Idk, for me it’s the best way forward given their lack of attention to the problem so far. Also, if I’m not mistaken, it falls in line with a “common practice” that some security researches do, which is to warn the company of the problem, and if they don’t act on it after a certain amount of time, they disclose it to the public so there’s pressure for a fix.
I used summarize.tech to produce this synopsis:
The video discusses the issue of iCloud unlocking and how it is being used to bypass the activation lock security feature. Despite reports from iPhone repair store owners and anonymous groups of a flaw in Apple’s activation server that allows stolen or lost devices to be unlocked, Apple has turned a blind eye and prioritized iPhone sales over security. The video highlights the negative impact of P-List FMI off or token FMI off service on honest phone vendors and local market prices, further questioning Apple’s commitment to user security. A YouTuber suggests that individuals should focus on developing valuable skills, and expresses concern about the lack of action from Apple against iCloud unlocking.
Good question. I will always and forever downvote random links to YouTube videos!
Thanks for this information. This is one of the reasons I bought an iPhone… sucks
I was under the impression that organised thieves had software that could reset stolen Iphones - otherwise why would they steal them? Is this exploit new?
If you steal an iPhone and forget to ask the victim for a PIN at knifepoint, you can still sell it bricked for parts. Search for locked iPhones on eBay, they go for $100 to $200.
