“Apple officially released iOS 10.3 a few days ago, which contains a number of new features and bug fixes,” Amit Chowdhry writes for Forbes. “However, there is one specific bug fix in iOS 10.3 that is absolutely crucial.”
“Before iOS 10.3 was released, the bug was so problematic that it completely jammed 9-1-1 emergency call centers,” Chowdhry writes. “Back in October 2016, the security vulnerability was exploited by 18-year-old iPhone app developer Meetkumar Desai. Desai allegedly used a Twitter account with around 12,000 followers and tweeted a link that caused people’s phones to dial 9-1-1 over and over again. That tweet went viral and supposedly it was clicked 117,502 times.”
“Ars Technica reported that Desai was arrested on charges of felony computer tampering for allegedly creating the malicious code and sharing it on Twitter — which forced iPhones to repeatedly dial 9-1-1, similar to the way DDoS cyber attacks work,” Chowdhry writes. “Apple told The Wall Street Journal that iOS 10.3 now requires users to press a confirmation before a call is initiated. And Apple said the update will prevent iPhones from making calls even on apps that have not fixed the issue yet.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This was certainly an important fix!
SEE ALSO:
Apple releases iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2, and tvOS 10.2 – March 27, 2017
Slightly off-topic, but related to 10.3, I’m curious, has anyone had any problems with an iPad Pro 9.7 (or any device) hanging? SInce the update I’ve had trouble that seems to occur when switching between apps (I always use a Zagg keyboard and CMD-Tab to switch), And this morning the iPad locked up merely when waking from sleep. I’ve force reset, did the press power until the off button comes on, the press and hold Home button until the cache is cleared (and processes are stopped). I just experienced it a few minutes ago when switching from News to Safari. The problem seems random mostly, but switching between apps seems to be the most frequent trigger. I had no problems before the update.
I do not have an iPad Pro 9.7 (although that would be nice!), so I cannot provide a basis of comparison. If you cannot find a thread on this topic to help you, then I suggest making an appointment at the local Apple Store Genius Bar. They may not be actual geniuses, but they do tend to become quickly familiar with the issues that result from an iOS upgrade.
If you made an iPad backup before updating to 10.3 (as you always should before updating), then you could try restoring it and reloading 10.3.
King, FWIW, I did poke around and couldn’t really find anyone else whining about this so I kept at trying to figure it out. The more time I spent the less frequent the freezes were. Aside from what I thought was a problem with app-switching using CMD-Tab, I noticed that my Spotlight searches weren’t working all the time (I always use either the “search” key on my keyboard or CMD-Space to open an app). Then it dawned on me that perhaps Spotlight was just taking it’s time re-indexing after the OS update. At this point I haven’t had a freeze for more than a day and a half.
And, yeah, I did have an iCloud backup but was too lazy and masochistic to go through the restore process. Seems like I’m back to normal (such as that’s possible 😜)
It is rather discouraging to me that we, as a species and a society, spend so much of our resources on war/defense, law enforcement/incarceration, and battling fraud/scammers and malware. I would like to believe that only a relatively small percentage of the population is truly bad, but it does not take many to do a lot of damage.
Can you imagine the havoc involved if A.I.’s eventually develop a prankster style of humor ?
The authorities should throw this Desai guy in jail and throw away the key! Only a broken piece of crap would unleash an exploit that jams 911 call centers and prevents people in trouble from getting help! Truly disgraceful behavior!