Lock like Apple

🎮 Good morning, friends. If you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the new God of War: Ragnarok release date, it’s time to breathe a sigh of relief. We now know when the game is coming and how much it will cost. Stay tuned for this and more great news from the tech world in today’s edition.

Apple’s new “Lockdown Mode” is unlike anything on Android

Don’t start hating me now for an Apple story! Not until you’ve read what I have to say. No, this is not a rant about Apple locking its users into its ecosystem. It’s about what Apple does for the security of its iPhones. The Cupertino player has a new Lock Mode for its devices, unlike any security measure you would find on your Android devices. As Ars Technica explains it, the feature isn’t snake oil either. This is actually good stuff from Apple.

What is it?

• Lockdown Mode is an extreme form of protection against targeted threats from rental spyware.
• Think Jason Bourne-style technical attacks on highly influential individuals such as diplomats, political dissidents, and lawyers.
• Enabling Lockdown Mode hardens device defenses and strictly limits certain functionalities.
• It greatly reduces the attack surface that can potentially be exploited by highly targeted rental spyware.
• While such attacks only affect a small number of users, the new Lockdown Mode is great for those who believe their security has been compromised and want to take immediate steps to stop the cyberattack.
• Apple has also created a new category within the Apple Security Bounty program to reward researchers who believe Lockdown Mode is being bypassed.
• Bounties are doubled for qualifying findings in Lockdown Mode, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 – the highest maximum bounty payout in the industry.

Protections in Lockdown Mode

At startup, Lockdown mode includes the following protections:

• Messages: Blocks most types of message attachments other than images. Some features, such as link previews, are disabled.
• surf: Certain complex web technologies, such as just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown mode.
• Apple services: Incoming invitations and service requests, including FaceTime calls, will be blocked if the user has not previously sent the initiator a call or request.
• Wired connections with a computer or accessory are blocked when iPhone is locked.
• Configuration Profiles cannot be installed and the device cannot enroll in mobile device management (MDM) while the lock mode is enabled.

When and where will it come?

• The new Lockdown Mode is not only making its way to iPhones, but also to iPads and macOS devices.
• Apple will introduce it on iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura.
• Apple will continue to strengthen Lockdown Mode and add new protections over time.

To round up

Nothing does an NFT thing, and people don’t like it: Carl Pei’s Nothing has announced an NFT. It is a video clip of a cube with a bouncing black dot. The company will be giving the NFTs away to early investors before putting them up for sale to the public. However, people are not so happy about it (android authority†

God Of War: Ragnarok Has A Launch Date! November 9, 2022 is the fateful day for the second coming of GoW. The new adventure of Kratos and Atreus will cost you $59.99 on the PS4 and $69.99 on the PS5. There are also two hella cool Collector’s and Jötnar Editions (PlayStation blog†

Verizon stops its 3G networks and offers free 4G LTE phones: Verizon wants to take you out of the middle ages with a free 4G flip phone. Don’t expect a Galaxy Z Flip 3 now. It’s just a basic phone, but it will suffice if you’re tethered to a 3G (Verizon) device.

Thursday Thing: Mice made from frozen skin cells from other mice

Scientists at the University of Yamanashi in Japan are certainly not concerned with this. Or are they? However, they managed to cloned mice using frozen skin cells from other mice. It is a world first and a major concern because it could pave the way for the repopulation of endangered species.

• Researchers freeze dried skin cells from mouse tails and stored them for nine months before making clones.
• The freezing process killed the skin cells, but scientists still managed to make the clones.
• They made early cloned embryos by placing the dead cells in mouse eggs.
• Surrogate mice carried the embryos to term.
• The first cloned mouse was named Dorami, after the manga character Doraemon.
• Dorami also had her own litter after a successful mating with a female.

Isn’t science fantastic? Have a good rest of the day.