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Third-party repair shops working with screens and touchID/faceID sensors have an opportunity to install surveillance hardware inside iPhones that could be used
by floatingatoll 6y ago
Third-party repair shops working with screens and touchID/faceID sensors have an opportunity to install surveillance hardware inside iPhones that could be used by organized crime and governments to commit harm upon citizens. Denying official parts for these security-critical components to uncertified vendors would protect users from these “evil maid” threat vectors, as the certification can be used to enforce compliance with strict auditing and process controls designed to minimize the threat of harm to users.
- saagarjha 6y agoAn even simpler and more common case is a third-party using a shoddy part that fails later.
- encom 6y agoYes, but that's the customers choice to make.
- saagarjha 6y agoAs far as I understand it, Apple prefers that they not show up in the news as "iPhone EXPLODES" because the part where it says the customer bought some cheap third-party replacement is going to be buried ten lines into the article.
- hansvm 6y agoIf their problem is with reporters then taking out independent repair shops is a lot of collateral damage on the way to preventing things Apple actually cares about.
- saagarjha 6y agoApple cares about how their brand is perceived. Similarly, I doubt there are people at Apple who cackle maniacally when they lock down their operating systems; these are just a result of trying to protect their image at the expense of user freedom.
- ClumsyPilot 6y ago> Apple prefers Essential to the concept of ownership, is the idea that I don't give a rat's ass what Apple or anyone else prefers. Do I own my phone, or does Apple?
- Y_Y 6y agoI only accept first party spying! And also governmental of course. And to a lesser extent the companies who make my apps. But heaven forfend the Yakuza infiltrate my fingerprint scanner and steal my secret fingerprints.
- rstat1 6y agoAny repair shop "authorized" or not has the same opportunity to do whatever they want to your device, regardless of the "strict auditing" or w/e that's in place.
- floatingatoll 6y agoAs does Apple when they manufacture and sell you the device. If you trust nothing, LibrePhone is your only option. If you wish to evaluate trust and risk management as a spectrum — rather than as an all-or-nothing proposition — then you have a wider array of choices. Certification is useful for decreasing the probability of risks.
- ClumsyPilot 6y agoAnd car repairmen could install a tracking device, a hidden microphone, disable the alarm system with a remote command and sell my car's location to car thieves. Or they could cut the breaks and get me killed. In fact, even a car wash could do that when I leave the car keys with them and pick up a clean car the next day.
- floatingatoll 6y agoIf you store your private keys and wallet in the car, you might not be so unconcerned by the risks you describe. Phones contain far more sensitive data than cars.
- ClumsyPilot 6y agoMessing about with a car can kill you. What's on your phone that your life is less important?
- floatingatoll 6y agoI am far less likely to die in my car than I am to die outside of it, but I treat my one-ton metal conveyance with the utmost care and respect, preferring to spend less on the car itself and more on maintenance and repairs to ensure that I do not die an unlikely death from shoddy parts or labor. You assume that nothing on my phone could result in my death. That privilege is not available to me. Personal beliefs, medical history, and other aspects of my self that are stored in digital form on my device could kill me if viewed by the wrong people.