It appears that once again Apple is upping device security with the upcoming release of iOS 11.4. In a new report on Elcomsoft indicates that when the new build of iOS rolls out, it will come with a Lightening Connection lockdown that requires the device to unlocked or the password/fingerprint to be entered every seven days. The feature is meant to prevent tethering a device to a PC or Mac and brute force cracking the device to gain access.
The feature first appeared in iOS 11.3 but was dropped during the beta testing. It reappeared in 11.4 and, to this point, has pretty much gone unnoticed until now. What this means is after 7 days, if the device hasn’t been unlocked either with biometrics or a password, the Lightening connector becomes a charging port only. No data is transmitted to or from the device by the connected laptop.
For consumers, this is a great feature because if your device is stolen, there is very limited amount of time for someone to crack the device. Remember, biometrics makes it harder and the longer your associated PIN on your device, the harder it makes for those who want to get into your device.
Police and other forensic organizations will likely not like this new feature as it severely limits their time to get into a device by brute force.
Given that we are at a late stages of the beta cycles for 11.4, it is likely that the feature will make it into the final builds when they are released. As to when that release date is to happen, it is likely going to be around WWDC at the beginning of next month.
