Warning to iPhone users about the ‘mirroring’ feature that could expose your data
A warning has been issued to iPhone users after cybersecurity experts discovered a bug in Apple’s Mirroring feature that could keep your data visible.
Security software company Sevco discovered the flaw when it was used on a work-issued Mac, sharing smartphone data with a company’s IT systems.
They confirmed that employees’ apps, photos and messages were stored on corporate networks that employers had access to.
The security team has urged iPhone users to stop using the feature on work computers and for companies to identify any corporate IT systems that collect software inventory from Macs until Apple releases a patch.
Security researchers have discovered a bug in Apple’s iOS 18 that shares personal information from an iPhone to a Mac, which can be stored on remote systems
“This Apple bug is a major privacy risk because it could expose aspects of their personal lives that they don’t want to share or that could put them at risk,” Sevco said. in a statement.
‘This could include exposing a VPN app in a country that restricts access to the internet, a dating app that reveals their sexual orientation in a jurisdiction with limited protection or legal consequences, or an app related to a health condition that an employee is simply unaware of. want to share.
“The consequences of such data exposure can be serious.”
However, companies can find themselves in legal trouble if the problem is not addressed.
“It could result in violations of important privacy laws such as the CCPA, potential lawsuits and enforcement by federal agencies,” Sevco explains.
The security team also noted that it has contacted Apple after several companies confirmed the issue, and hopes a patch will be released soon.
“We expect Apple to patch macOS soon based on our conversations with them,” Sevco said.
“If a patch becomes available, companies will have to apply the patch to stop collecting data from private employees.
“After the patch is available, Sevco recommends that companies delete accidentally collected employee data to eliminate liability risks.”
The team discovered the bug on September 2 and confirmed that iPhone Mirroring was the source.
On September 30, Apple reported that it had reproduced the issue and told Sevco that it would address the problem in an update soon, but that was on October 3.
DailyMail.com has contacted Apple for comment.
Sevco’s discovery announcement comes just a week after Apple released an urgent security update to fix bugs.
The tech giant deployed iOS 18.0.1 on October 3 to fix issues that caused the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro to crash.
In the patch notes for the update, Apple says it has fixed an issue where the “touch screen may become temporarily unresponsive under certain conditions on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models.”
This will be good news for iPhone 16 users who have reported that their new phones’ screens are often unresponsive since the iOS 18 update.
On X, formerly Twitter, a commenter wrote: ‘iPhone 16 Pro Max is buggy AF! from the touch screen not responding to the phone switching to a lower refresh rate.
Another commenter wrote, “I spent $1,600 on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, only to see it freeze and crash at least twice a day.”
‘My iPhone 16 pro has been pretty useless since I got it. Freezes, crashes, repeats,” added another.
In addition to fixing this frustrating issue, Apple says the iOS 18.0.1 update will fix a glitch that caused the camera to freeze while recording with the Ultra Wide camera.
The patch also fixed a bug where “messages stopped unexpectedly when replying to a message with a shared Apple Watch face.”
This update coincides with the release of iPadOS 18.0.1 for the iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later.’