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How Apple’s Walled Garden is a Double-Edged Security Sword

Andrew Orr ·

Patrick Howell O’Neill shared an interesting argument for MIT Technology Review: Apple’s locked-down ecosystem is both good and bad for security.

He argues that while the iPhone’s security is getting tighter as Apple invests millions to raise the wall, the best hackers have their own millions to buy or develop zero-click exploits that let them take over iPhones invisibly. These allow attackers to burrow into the restricted parts of the phone without ever giving the target any indication of having been compromised. And once they’re that deep inside, the security becomes a barrier that keeps investigators from spotting or understanding nefarious behavior.

Put another way: Apple’s locked down systems naturally select for the best hackers. And the best hackers have the skill to create the most devastating hacks. “This means that even to know you’re under attack, you may have to rely on luck or vague suspicion rather than clear evidence.”

Podcast

Rolling With Wi-Fi — Mac Geek Gab 859

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

Sometimes you’ve gotta go… and sometimes — make that ALL the times — you need Wi-Fi. Never fear, John and Dave are here to help answer the tough (and fun) questions. Listen as your two favorite geeks pour through the mailbag, trying to answer as many of your questions as possible in the time we all have together each week. Don’t forget to send in your questions: [email protected] and they’ll answer yours, too!

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Apple and Kia May Yet do a Car Deal

Charlotte Henry ·

Despite previously stating that talks were off, a car partnership between Apple, Hyundai, and its affiliate Kia could yet happen. Reuters picked up on reports coming out of South Korea.

Online site Chosun Biz said on Friday that Apple and Kia had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last year and had agreed to pursue cooperation in eight sectors, including electric vehicles. It said negotiations on electric vehicles had not been completely cancelled. “Even if the negotiations on electric vehicles fail, there are many items that can be negotiated in other fields, so we are still optimistic about the possibility of partnership between the two sides,” Chosun cited an unnamed source familiar with negotiations between Hyundai and Apple as saying. Aside from electric vehicles, Kia and Apple are also discussing cooperation in “last mile” mobility, or transport to complete a final short distance to a destination after using another means of transportation, Chosun said

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How Apple is Going Back to The Future With Its Designs

Charlotte Henry ·

Some of the designs of recent Apple products, particularly, but not exclusively, the iPhone, leave longtime users with a sense of deja vu. Cult of Mac took a good like at how Apple is going Mac back to the future.

Specifically, Apple ditched the curved edges that graced every iPhone since 2014’s iPhone 6, reverting to the squared-off edges of previous devices. That was perfectly OK with me: The iPhone 5 remains probably my favorite iPhone design in history. By borrowing (you can’t exactly steal your own designs) some of that classic phone’s design elements, and then offering some truly up-to-date tech in the form of all-display OLED screens, 5G, and A14 chips, Apple merged old and new in a compelling package. But that’s not the end of Apple’s newfound willingness to reference what worked in the past. Apple’s next MacBook Pro apparently will take a backward leap to move forward. Rumors indicate the laptop will revive the beloved MagSafe charger. And it reportedly will restore ports like HDMI and an SD card reader that disappeared half a decade ago.

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Twitter Announces ‘Super Follows’ and Communities

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter announced a couple of features on Thursday that will arrive in the future and change the nature of its platform.

The payment feature, called Super Follows, will allow Twitter users to charge followers and give them access to extra content. That could be bonus tweets, access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge indicating your support.

Twitter also announced a new feature called Communities, which appear to be its take on something like Facebook Groups. People can create and join groups around specific interests — like cats or plants, Twitter suggests — allowing them to see more tweets focused on those topics.