I want a thorough, hack proof procedure for securing this iPhone

September 2, 2022 4:33 AM

I live on my iPhone, it’s the most comfortable device for me to do most of my written work. For the sake of argument, let’s say it’s been compromised. How do I change the passwords on everything - appleID, a zillion gmail addresses, loads of apps… in a way that minimises risk of threat actors getting the new passwords?
posted by The Last Sockpuppet to Technology (2 answers total)

With a security question like this, the first issue is always "compromised by who?". It is _extremely_ unlikely that the average FB scammer or the like could/would actually compromised an iPhone to the degree you seem to be indicating (full memory access, ability to read keystrokes, cross-app communication of state, etc, etc). It simply isn't possible to fully compromise an iPhone or iPad in the same manner it is to do so to a traditional Windows OS based computer, for example. In the normal course of events, it is FAR more likely for someone to be a target for purely commercial reasons, and the attacker is more likely to use social engineering to convince someone to do something dumb (which COULD result in a full takeover of their system if we're talking traditional computer, but again...not really possible in the same way re: iPhone...not impossible, but difficult).

If you are the target of a multinational corporation or a government agency, AND have been lax in upgrading your phone to the latest software releases, AND haven't already set everything up with 2-factor authentication, AND somehow get compromised via a zero day/silent attack...the answer for for an iPhone is the same as for any other computing device. Assume the existing hardware is fully compromised (as you cannot verify that it is not) and move to a new, known-good system that is previously unknown to the attacker and begin changing things from there. Follow good password protocol (never, ever, ever re-use a password for more than one account). Secure everything with 2FA as quickly as possible, and do not use your phone number as the second factor...use a hardware 2FA key or a rotating code generator like Authy. Ensure that you have access to your main email first, secure it with 2FA, check all mail filters and settings to ensure that an attacker hasn't set it up to silently forward email on the server side. Then move one at a time through your accounts, from most to least important.

For the iPhone specifically, Apple has just released Lockdown Mode in it's newest OS release (https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/07/apple-expands-commitment-to-protect-users-from-mercenary-spyware/) which won't fix things after the attack has occurred, but will do a LOT to prevent attacks from happening. Anyone who may be a target of the above-mentioned attackers should strongly consider running in Lockdown Mode permanently.
posted by griffey at 5:41 AM on September 2, 2022 [8 favorites]

As noted, the answer to these questions is always, "What's the threat model?". Sometimes it is very low risk, a random person in Argentina who wants free Disney+ and uses a password published in a previous compromise (oddly specific but that's what happened.). Medium risk would be someone taking over your email account to send messages to all your contacts and ask them for gift cards. High risk would be someone emptying out your retirement accounts. Ultra high, unrealistic risk is a state intelligence service or other well-funded adversary who is capable of both acquiring a "0-day" unpublished exploit and delivering it to your phone. That is what would be required to compromise an Apple device in the long term, nothing less.

Do you think you're being targeted by professionals? My guess is you aren't. You would have to have something they want and are willing to spend real bucks to get. It's probably overkill, but you can reset your iPhone, clearing all settings and data. Then change any passwords you suspect have been compromised. I would recommend a graded approach. High-consequence accounts (say $10K and up) get mandatory 2-factor authentication and passwords that are never stored digitally (so a piece of paper). Also accounts that secure high-consequence accounts get the same treatment, such as the password for a GMail account that you used to register for a retirement account (but make sure your recovery options are in place, it's harder to retrieve a lost GMail account than it is to compromise an iPhone). Medium consequence and below get strong, machine generated passwords in a password manager.

Lockdown mode looks pretty cool for people legitimately at risk from professionals, but it also seems like a huge pain to do almost anything.
posted by wnissen at 11:08 AM on September 2, 2022 [1 favorite]