Apple's new iPhones thwart spyware attacks automatically
What's the story
Apple has unveiled a major security upgrade with its new iPhone 17 lineup. The tech giant has introduced a feature called Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE), which is an always-on safety protection designed to thwart spyware attacks. The company claims this is "the most significant upgrade to memory safety in the history of consumer operating systems."
Advanced protection
MIE is built on Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension
MIE is an industry-first, comprehensive, always-on memory-safety protection that covers key attack surfaces such as the kernel and over 70 userland processes. It is built on the Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE) and supported by secure typed allocators and tag confidentiality protections. The move directly targets the spyware industry that creates exploits for tools like Pegasus to hack into targeted devices.
Enhanced security
Apple's approach to memory safety similar to Microsoft's
Apple's approach to memory safety is similar to Microsoft's introduction of memory integrity security features for Windows 11. The company also highlights ARM's work with the Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) to combat memory bugs. This technology is already supported on Google's Pixel phones starting with the Pixel 8 series, and can be enabled for supported apps by turning on Advanced Protection.
User protection
Apple chips designed for enhanced security
Apple's implementation of MIE goes a step further by protecting all users by default. The company has designed its A19 and A19 Pro chips for enhanced security, while still adding memory safety changes for older hardware that doesn't support the new memory tagging features. Apple also claims its new mitigation for Spectre V1 leaks works with "virtually zero CPU cost," addressing performance issues often associated with memory integrity and other security features.
Security recognition
GrapheneOS team acknowledges improvements but raises concerns
The team behind the security-focused GrapheneOS project has acknowledged the "major security improvements" that will bolster iPhone security. However, they did express concerns over how these advancements were presented and how they compared with features like MTE already available on Android. The real test of these updates will come when they are deployed on devices and hackers attempt to breach the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air's security systems.