Apple have unveiled a special ‘Lockdown Mode’ for individuals likely to face extremely targeted threats to their cybersecurity.

Lockdown Mode will be added to iOS 16, iPad OS16 and macOS Ventura, and is designed for a small number of users who are likely to be targets of high-end surveillance spyware, and require the digital attack ‘surface’ of their device to be drastically reduced.

The new functionality is partly a response to the work of organisations like NSO Group, who have faced repeated accusations that their counter-terrorism surveillance software has also been used by governments and various state-sponsored actors around the world to illegally target journalists, activists and other political opponents.

The new tool represents an extreme device-hardening posture, and imposes very strict controls – including:

* Messages: Most message attachment types other than images are blocked. Some features, like link previews, are disabled.

* Web browsing: Certain complex web technologies, like just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown Mode.

* Apple services: Incoming invitations and service requests, including FaceTime calls, are blocked if the user has not previously sent the initiator a call or request.

* Wired connections with a computer or accessory are blocked when iPhone is locked.

* Configuration profiles cannot be installed, and the device cannot enroll into mobile device management (MDM), while Lockdown Mode is turned on.

Apple is keen to point out that “while the vast majority of users will never be the victims of high targeted cyberattacks”, lockdown mode will become an option for those that may be, and reasserts Apple’s credentials in the high-end ‘secure-phone’ market previously dominated by Blackberry and other niche hardware players.

The tech giant’s will also offer up to $2m to anybody able to demonstrate a vulnerability in Lockdown Mode under their bug bounty programme – the largest such reward available in the industry.

This defining moment of the 21st century has provided ample inspiration for the world’s writers, bloggers and journalists – so far, 2020 has been a big year for tech.

Here’s some of our favourite technology articles from across the internet in recent weeks:

1. “… By now the silence from the UK government about the NHS app was deafening. What was going on?”

Due for release in June, but then suddenly scuppered, the story of how the Government’s £11.8m promised Covid app sank without trace.

What went wrong with the UK’s Contact Tracing App? – BBC News

2. “… the crooks behind the attack brought along a 280 MB Windows XP virtual machine to run it in (and a copy of Oracle VirtualBox to run that).”

A terrifying new ransomware that fires up its own anti-virus free virtual machine to infect the host – Sophos shines a spotlight on Ragnar Locker.

The Ransomware that Attacks your from inside a Virtual Machine – Sophos

3. “… In the rest of the building, only three people tested positive out of 927”

A fascinating diagrammatic look at how Covid spread through a single floor of a 19-story office building; researchers conclude duration of interaction is the critical danger to workplace safety.

An Analysis of three Covid-19 outbreaks, how they happened, and how they can be avoided – El Pais

4. “… In fact, Zoom is using its own definition of the term.”

Forced to hurriedly address security promises in recent updates: how Zoom’s original claims about call encryption in March turned out to be less than true.

Zoom meetings aren’t end-to-end encrypted, despite misleading marketing – The Intercept

5. “… My screen hours now actually exceed my waking hours.”

Is it possible to live a fulfilled ‘real-life’ entirely online? Many of us have been trying it without realising.

The Internet, mon amour – Economist, 1843 Magazine

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Google have released aggregated smartphone location data which shows the UK under lockdown.

According to the newly published ‘Community Mobility Report’, in which Google GPS data from the location settings of Android phones is broken down by country, the UK has seen a dramatic drop in those going outside during March, as people stay in lockdown for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis.

‘Retail and Recreation’ visits, which includes restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, theme parks, museums, libraries and cinemas are down 85% against normal rates, and ‘Parks’ show a 53% decrease.

‘Transit Stations’ including public transport hubs are down an astonishing 75% as people remain at home rather than travelling.

‘Grocery & Pharmacy’ visits show a smaller decrease, at 46%, as people continue to shop sparingly for essentials.

However, Google GPS data varies across the UK – with Google warning readers not to compare rural and urban areas. Remoter parts of Scotland and Wales are less consistent both in lockdown severity but also available data to measure.

This measurement difficulty is something also noted by the Kings College Covid-19 sympton tracker app, which gathers self-reported data from across the UK and has risen rapidly up the Google Play and Apple App Store app charts in recent days.

Data for Devon suggests the lockdown is being observed slightly more strictly, with even lower rates of shopping and leisure trips being made compared to the UK average, but marginally higher attendance at workplaces and at public transport hubs.

You can find the Google’s COVID-19 Community Mobility Report for the UK and other countries here.

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