“In at least one federal case, the government has sought to search an Apple Watch, Forbes has discovered,” Thomas Fox-Brewster reports for Forbes. “That should be of little surprise: according to the first person to jailbreak the wearable tech, it doesn’t have the same levels of hardware security as the iPhone but contains much of the same data, from text messages to location information.”
“For reasons that are unclear, the cops in that one case, involving a drug trafficking investigation in Ohio, weren’t able to execute the warrant for an Apple Watch Series 2,” Fox-Brewster reports. “But what’s clear, from that case and another warrant obtained by Forbes that unsuccessfully sought to acquire information from an unnamed pink and black smart watch, is that the feds are seeking access to wearables. And the latest research into the security of the Apple Watch might be of use to them.”
“Max Bazaliy, a researcher at cellphone-focused security firm Lookout, said his watchOS 2 jailbreak technique could provide important research for forensics experts as they seek to break the security protections put in place by Apple,” Fox-Brewster reports. “There’s a significant caveat regarding Bazaliy’s jailbreak: it doesn’t work on any WatchOS later than 3.1.1, released to consumers back in January. Apple has patched the vulnerabilities.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Bury the lede, why don’t you?
Our Apple Watches are currently running watchOS 3.2.3 and they’ll be running watchOS 4 within weeks.
If you haven’t updated your Apple Watch to the latest watchOS version, do so as soon as possible.
It goes without saying that governments will want to search anything and everything, including wearables. Hopefully, Apple can continue to bolster Apple Watch’s already rather robust security defenses (as described in the full article, even the old watchOS 2 had already gotten quite complex to crack).
To update the software on your Apple Watch:
• Make sure your Apple Watch is on its charger and has at least a 50 percent charge.
• Keep your Apple Watch on its charger until the update completes.
• Connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi.
• Keep your iPhone next to your Apple Watch to make sure they’re in range.1. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, tap the My Watch tab, then tap General > Software Update.
2. Download the update. If asked for your iPhone passcode or Apple Watch passcode, enter it.
3. Wait for the progress wheel to appear on your Apple Watch.• Don’t restart your iPhone or Apple Watch, and don’t quit the Apple Watch app.
• When the update completes, your Apple Watch will restart on its own.