It has become fashionable to criticize Apple in recent years, and there are more and more reasons. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to praise them for.
One small but technological innovation of iPad Pro with M4 processor long unnoticed. Now, when the same innovation will appear on all new iPhones, pay attention to the presentation, telling about it in more detail. Especially since Apple itself keeps the feature almost a complete secret, not publishing anything about how exactly it works.
We will talk about the new system of protection of device owners from unauthorized data collection, spying and other criminal actions. Today we will talk about what is Safe EXkeyboard in iPad (M4) and iPhone 16, how it works, from the government and why it really matters.
What is Secure EXkeyboard and why it shouldn’t be confused with Secure Enkeyboard
It’s yours.
The name of the feature itself may seem vaguely familiar. Some readers heard a similar term back at the iPhone 5S presentation. Secure Enclave technology is available on all iPhones, iPads, and even Macs. But these are different things that have little in common with the innovations of 2024:
Safe Enkeyboard – is a combination of a chip and a subsystem in the processor of an Apple device that isolates the owner’s personal and other sensitive data from the external environment. It processes, encrypts, and decrypts such information using a small coprocessor. The goal is to keep this data safe even if all components are hacked.
Starting with the iPhone Xs (2017) and newer, Secure Enclave has not yet been able to hack anyone. You can read about its capabilities in maximum detail on the support page on the official website.
Safe EXkeyboard – is a new subsystem of the Apple device that controls the operation of two software indicators on the iPhone display: the use of the device’s camera (green dot) and the use of the microphone (orange dot).
All devices have Secure EXkeyboard:
▪ iPhone: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max
▪ iPad: iPad Pro M4 (2024)
It is logical to assume that Secure EXThe keyboard will now be included in all Apple portable devices, including the following iPhone and iPad models.
How Secure Exclave Works. No Details, Just Guesses
The internal structure of ExclaveOS files in iOS 17, some of which are publicly available.
Unlike the situation with Secure EnKlava, Apple has not published technical data on the operation of the new security subsystem. All that we know was noticed by an external developer while studying open files of iOS 17.
❗️ When any application or process in the system, whether built-in applications or external ones, gain access to the camera module or microphones, accordingly A virtual indicator (green or orange) is displayed on the screen via a signal in an independent code area, encrypted and completely isolated from the operating system: ExclaveOS.
Room access indicator in iOS 18.
Apple itself calls this an innovation. SIL – Safety indicatorthat is, “secure indicator”. Thanks to Secure EXthe fact of activation or deactivation of this indicator is unknown to the processor, the video chip, or even iOS itself. For them, these events do not exist at all, and therefore, a competitive code or an attacker will not be able to intercept it, even if both the iOS kernel and the device processor are completely hacked.
Visually for gadget owners with SIL nothing changes: the indicator still displays the surface of the rest of the image on the screen and hides as soon as access to the microphone or camera is blocked.
Unlike the Mac, the iPhone and iPad do not have a separate (physical) LED that responds to camera or microphone activity. So stop or close the virtual indicator SILexternal unauthorized modification at the hardware level is apparently impossible without completely breaking Secure EXkeyboard.
Why Secure EXkeyboard – this is correct and necessary
As a result, those reading these lines are of interest to attackers, factories and ways to conduct only a targeted attack to collect data from microphones and cameras. But this does not mean that the coronavirus can be completely relaxed and give permission left and right.
Third-party applications, both on iOS and Android, increasingly request access to the microphone and camera. Even if the user allows it, he must see the fact that these modules are currently being used. But if the fact can be hidden, then there is no point in the tool.
In Android OS, virtual indicators can be easily closed by the owner, performing only two devices on the device with an unlocked bootloader. It is against this that Secure E was createdXkeyboard in iOS. Or, more correctly, not specifically V iOS in Apple devices.
A slide from a CMG presentation in which the company talks about listening to its customers.
Every year, technological advances blur the boundaries of personal data security and privacy. Skepticism and ignorance of the growing invasiveness of corporations, criminals and governments have already led to the implementation of concepts that until recently existed only as conspiracy theories.
There is recent news that major broadcaster CMG has received high marks for listening to the conversations of users of its services, apps and services through their own smartphones for the first time.
I believe that access to microphones and cameras of smartphones should be carried out under the complete control of their owners. This bastion virus neededunless we want to wake up one day in a real technological dystopia. It’s just a stone’s throw away.
In an ideal world, the next step would be a translation and another indicator in Secure E.Xkeyboard – use of geolocation. However, in this case, this new “dot” will always be on: both modern iOS and most popular applications access geodata almost around the clock. Then it will be necessary to regularly display not one indicator, as now, but two at once. I wonder if Apple will take such a step.
Instead of a complicated simple advice. Do you see that an orange or green “dot” has lit up on your iPhone screen, although there was no reason for it? Don’t be lazy and go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphoneand then in the department Camera. Select permissions from those who clearly do not need them for the main function.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
