NEWS
The iPhone is recording everything users see and do on their devices for caching purposes, an iPhone hacker says.
The device records screenshots of a user's most recent action so it can achieve the effect of applications fading away when the home button is clicked, according to Jonathan Zdziarski, who wrote the forthcoming book iPhone Forensics: Recovering Evidence, Personal Data and Corporate Assets.
The screenshots are presumably deleted after the application is closed but they can be recovered with forensics techniques, just like data deleted from any storage device can be reconstructed for police purposes, he said in a webcast on Thursday in which he demonstrated how to break into password-protected iPhones.
"There's no way to prevent it," Zdziarski said of the screenshot caching, according to a Wired report. He added: "I'm kind of divided on it. I hope Apple fixes it because it's a significant privacy leak but at the same time it's been useful for investigating criminals."
Meantime, breaking into a passcode-locked phone took him nearly an hour to demonstrate and required creating a custom firmware bundle, the report said. The issue is different from a security hole discovered last month that allowed people to get access to email, text and voice messages on password-protected phones.
Apple representatives did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.
Comments
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1. GALLEYSLAVE
WHATEVER NEXT!!!
OK, so long as the powers that be don't make it compulsory to own and carry one at all times.
Or maybe it will become the new ID card.
2. Richard
Actually cheaper than an ID card!
60 million iPhones @ ~300 Pounds each would be cheaper than the UK government's present crazy ID scheme;
Apple might even allow a quantity discount for an order this size.