Tag: iOS

iPhone disassembled

Apple Urges iPhone Users to Upgrade to Latest iOS Amid Cellebrite Unlock Claims

In-brief: Apple is urging iPhone and iPad users to upgrade to the latest version of iOS amid published claims by Israeli firm Cellebrite that its engineers can unlock basically any iPhone model, including those running the new iOS 11. Apple again finds itself at the center of controversy surrounding the ability to hack into iPhones to extract protected user information. The company is urging iPhone users to upgrade their devices to the latest version of iOS amid claims by an Israeli mobile-device surveillance firm that its engineers can unlock virtually any iPhone model in the world. However, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is remaining mum on what, if anything, it might do now or in the future to resolve the issue. Citing anonymous sources, Forbes reported Monday that Cellebrite, based in Petah Tikva, Israel, is telling customers that its engineers already can bypass the security of devices running iOS 11, the […]

Samsung Smart TV

MEH CIA: Agency’s Hacking Tools Targeted Known, Patched Holes

In-brief: Two days after the site Wikileaks dumped thousands of pages of information about covert CIA hacking tool, the security and technology communities have weighed in. Their verdict? Meh. 

Redbend-Samsung

Vulnerable Mobile Software Management Tool Reaches Into IoT

You could be forgiven for never having heard of Red Bend Software. The company is small – just 250 employees- and privately held. Red Bend’s headquarters is a suite of offices in a nondescript office park in Waltham, Massachusetts, just off Route 128 – America’s “Silicon Highway.” But the company’s small profile belies a big footprint in the world of mobile devices. Since 2005, more than 2 billion devices running the company’s mobile management software have been sold worldwide. Today, the Red Bend is believed to control between 70 and 90 percent of the market for mobile software management (MSM) technology, which carriers use to service mobile devices. The software enables mobile carriers to do critical tasks, including firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) software updates, mobile device configuration and other on-device changes.  Red Bend counts many of the world’s leading companies in the mobile, enterprise and manufacturing sectors as clients, including Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sharp, LG, Sony, Huawei, China Mobile and Lenovo. For the most part, Red […]

ipad_for_business

Apple And IBM: The Corporatization of Consumerization

Apple Computer has built up a brand so strong that it borders on being a cult. That is why it is jarring to realize that, at the end of the day, Steve Jobs’ baby is just another company that needs to make its numbers each quarter and keep Wall Street happy. The company’s announcement of an exclusive partnership with  IBM is just that: a reminder that Apple’s core business is business, and that the company has been sorely underperforming in a key market: the enterprise. Whatever its faults, IBM is flush with the very things that Apple lacks: the brand, technology, expertise and reach that puts enterprise technology buyers at ease. As we reported, IBM will offer mobile device management, security, data analytics and cross-platform integrations for Apple’s iPad and iPhone that leverage IBM’s cloud services. There will be IBM-managed offerings around mobile device activation, supply and management tailored to businesses. But the partnership is something more- […]

FDA: Regulators Can’t Scale To Police Mobile Health Apps

A senior advisor to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tossed cold water on speculation that the Agency might try to police mobile health and wellness applications, saying the FDA couldn’t possibly scale up to meet the challenge of policing the hundreds of new apps appearing every month. Correction: The article was changed to clarify Mr. Patel’s comments. He was not responding to a direct question about the FDA setting up an office to regulate mobile health applications. He was commenting on the possibility of creating a platform to evaluate and rate mobile health applications.  Also, he said “It’s not do-able,” not “it’s not possible.” We apologize for any confusion created by the article. – PFR July 10, 2014. The sheer pace of innovation in the mobile health application space and the numbers of such applications already available on mobile marketplaces like the iTunes App Store and Google Play mean that many mobile health applications will escape scrutiny by federal […]