In the period when Apple is aggressively promoting their new iPhone 7 and iOS 10, there are multiple sources suggesting that the new upgrade is not yet fully ready. We will dive into it, but take this, Elcomsoft have discovered that there is a severe security flaw in the iTunes backup protection mechanism, which leaves it prone to password cracking tools.
iTunes Backup Flaw
iOS forensics company, Elcomsoft, known for developing cracking tools for iOS, suggest that the new password verification mechanism for iOS 10 devices skips certain security checks which leaves hackers for easy login access. (Like 2,500 times easier than the older version, damn!) The tools are made by Elcomsoft itself.
With this security flaw, only local backups are affected, not the backup generated on the iCloud.
But this flaw will get access to user’s login and password credentials, and all the data saved on the device. Apple have identified the problem and released a statement that (Source) –
“We’re aware of an issue that affects the encryption strength for backups of devices on iOS 10 when backing up to iTunes on the Mac or PC. We are addressing this issue in an upcoming security update. This does not affect iCloud backups.
We recommend users ensure their Mac or PC are protected with strong passwords and can only be accessed by authorized users. Additional security is also available with FileVault whole disk encryption.”
So the new update will be released to fix this issue, but the timeline for release is unknown. In the new iOS 10.0.0.2 update, they have fixed Lightning pods, Siri, Phone Calls, iCloud and Volume keys problems. Wonder why they missed this? Security is one of the fundamental things that Apple is known for.
Dropping iPhone 7 Sales
Along with iTunes issue, Apple is also facing dropping iPhone 7 sales. A recent announcement that the Apple will not disclose their Launch Sales suggests that there is some backstory. Launch reports are one of the strong point that Apple provides in the supply constrained time, but suddenly halting this is a big decision, putting investors and customers in a blind spot.
Iphone 5s and 6s plus which sold over 13 million units during launched weekend, got less traction after the period. This may be the issue, according to an article from Forbes, a report made by GfK dropped Apple sales suggesting low iPhones sales in Europe. Though the report is not published, Bloomberg‘s (original source) report quotes
“Numbers on sales or market shares are confidentially provided to our clients and shall not be quoted or released to the public,” GfK said in an e-mailed statement. “We did not publish these figures for external release.”
At the time of writing this article, Apple shares had dropped by 1.67%. So maybe Apple is hiding, or maybe not, to keep this away from the investors.
Project Titan
Interestingly, Motley Fool have got some evidence which can potentially turn this situation completely around. They have disclosed that Apple is working on a secret project called as “Project Titan“, a self-driving Apple Car. This also might explain recent rumor of Apple’s McLaren acquisition as well.
Motley Fool article suggests that Apple is procuring 5,000 Acres of land for a testing purpose, hiring engineers from Tesla, Volkswagen, Ford, and Bosch, putting USD 10 billion in R&D, and many other sources.
BGR too reports that
“Apple is more likely to want the incredible team and technologies developed inside MAT, while McLaren needs MAT to maintain its competitiveness in racing.”
So what you think? Should Apple get into Cars? will iPhone 7 sales increase? Let us know
