Security research shows that iOS 18 adds a new feature to the iPhone. This feature automatically restarts the phone if it is locked for 72 hours. Jessica KlassenThe researcher of Hasso Plattner Institute managed to identify the feature known as Inactivity reboot. The company Magnet Forensics also confirmed the provision of this security feature in iOS 18.
The Inactivity reboot feature in iOS 18 causes the user’s encryption keys to be locked in the iPhone’s secure chip and as a result increases the security of the device. According to Klassen, even if thieves leave the phone on, the new security feature prevents them from being unlocked with older tools; Although inactivity reboot may make it harder for law enforcement to access criminals’ data, it cannot completely prevent them.
iPhones can be used in two different security modes; The first mode is before the first unlock (BFU) where the device data is completely encrypted and will be almost inaccessible and the second is after the first unlock (AFU) where some data is decrypted and it is possible to extract that information with special tools. there is These two modes affect the ability of hackers to break into people’s iPhones.
A security researcher named Tihmstar points out that the iPhone’s lock code is recorded in its secure memory in AFU mode, and as a result, data access is easier in such conditions, but in BFU mode, it will be more difficult to break into it due to restarting the phone.
Over the past years, Apple has faced criticism from the US military by adding new security features. For example, in 2016, the FBI asked this company for help in unlocking the iPhone of a criminal who had shot, but Apple refused to do so, and the FBI also used the services of another security company to unlock the criminal’s iPhone.
