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Apple Addresses iOS 'Backdoor' Concerns by Outlining Legitimate Uses for Targeted Services [Updated]

Tuesday July 22, 2014 7:44 pm PDT by Eric Slivka
apple_security_iconEarlier this week, forensic expert Jonathan Zdziarski attracted attention for his disclosures of what appeared to be "backdoors" in iOS that could allow for covert data collection of users' information from their devices. While Apple issued a statement denying that anything nefarious was involved, the company has now posted a new support document (via Cabel Sasser) offering a limited description of the three services highlighted in Zdziarski's talk.
Each of these diagnostic capabilities requires the user to have unlocked their device and agreed to trust another computer. Any data transmitted between the iOS device and trusted computer is encrypted with keys not shared with Apple. For users who have enabled iTunes Wi-Fi Sync on a trusted computer, these services may also be accessed wirelessly by that computer.
The three processes include:

- com.apple.mobile.pcapd: Diagnostic packet capture to a trusted computer, used for diagnosing app issues and enterprise VPN connection problems.

- com.apple.mobile.file_relay: Used on internal devices and can be accessed (with user permission) by AppleCare for diagnostic purposes on the user's device.

- com.apple.mobile.house_arrest: Used by iTunes for document transfer and by Xcode during app development and testing.

Security experts will undoubtedly have additional questions about just how these services work and whether there are better and more secure ways of accomplishing the tasks they handle. At the very least, however, today's disclosure demonstrates a willingness by Apple to share information about the legitimate need for these services and should help quell unsupported speculation that Apple has worked with security agencies to implement these tools to allow for covert surveillance.

Update July 23, 9:52 AM: Zdziarski has responded [Google cache] to Apple's posting of the support document, acknowledging the disclosures but arguing that Apple is downplaying the power of these services.
I give Apple credit for acknowledging these services, and at least trying to give an answer to people who want to know why these services are there – prior to this, there was no documentation about file relay whatsoever, or its 44 data services to copy off personal data. They appear to be misleading about its capabilities, however, in downplaying them, and this concerns me. I wonder if the higher ups at Apple really are aware of how much non-diagnostic personal information it copies out, wirelessly, bypassing backup encryption. All the while that Apple is downplaying it, I suspect they’ll also quietly fix many of the issues I’ve raised in future versions. At least I hope so. It would be wildly irresponsible for Apple not to address these issues, especially now that the public knows about them.
Zdziarski also emphasizes that he has never suggested Apple is involved in a conspiracy to open up these services for surveillance - only that they could be used by those seeking to access such data.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Jonathan Zdziarski
[ 132 comments ]


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cdmoore74
65 months ago
How does this title sound?

Google Addresses Android 'Backdoor' Concerns by Outlining Legitimate Uses for Targeted Services

If you mood changes from positive to negative then you know your a Apple fanboy. ;)
Rating: 19 Votes
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cdmoore74
65 months ago

Call me an Apple fanboy or whatever, But I 100% trust Apple.

I know Steve Jobs cared 100% about this company. The man stopped working only when it was physically impossible for him to go to work. I heard he even was talking about the iPhone 5 a day before he died to Tim Cook.

I know I know I shouldn't compare Steve to Tim. But I also believe Tim cares just as much as Steve did about Apple. They are honest and truly care about its products.

Im lovin there transparency to prove these Apple bashers wrong!

:apple:


Never trust anything 100%. I don't even trust my wife 100% of the time. Hell, I don't trust myself 100% of the time. :D
Rating: 19 Votes
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BigBeast
65 months ago

[...]these are still three security holes[...]


I don't think that means what you think it means.
Rating: 15 Votes
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MikhailT
65 months ago
Great first steps, now one more step is to allow the user to opt out on all diagnostic information. One of the problems with _Don't send info to Apple_ is that while it is disabling the sharing of information to Apple, it does not prevent those services from recording the information in the first place. That means your iOS device is still hoarding all sorts of personal information without your knowledge and consent, even though you're not sharing it with Apple. The info can be retrieved illegally and/or with legit forensic tools.

So, Apple needs to step up there and have a simple option to disable all diagnostic information, period. I don't care about legitimate users for these services, they're not required and they're storing information I don't want iOS to store in the first place that's not encrypted with my passcode.
Rating: 13 Votes
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lewisd25
65 months ago
Any service with the name "house_arrest" raises some red flags.
Rating: 13 Votes
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realeric
65 months ago
I believe Apple.
Rating: 12 Votes
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PocketSand11
65 months ago
This doesn't sound legit. Even if these genuinely are not meant to be backdoors, these are still three security holes that they show no sign of fixing.
Rating: 11 Votes
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MikhailT
65 months ago

I tend to trust Apple or anyone for that matter until I have a reason not to. In this case I don't know enough about the found code to think it nefarious.

With other comments made by apple I tend to think they know that partnering with the "other side" would be disastrous for their reputation and future.


Did you see the slides (https://pentest.com/ios_backdoors_attack_points_surveillance_mechanisms.pdf) from the security researcher? It is not that technical, you can see what kind of general information is being stored on the local device storage.

These information are not required for anything, it doesn't break anything by disabling them all from storing the info on the devices.

Imagine this on your Mac, every site you visit in Safari is being stored in the diagnostic file because it could be diagnostically useful for Apple to grab that file and reproduce what you did before Safari crashed. Now, imagine if you intentionally clear your history in Safari but it is not removed from the diagnostic file at all because well, it's for a diagnostic purpose.

Do you think it is okay to record what you did for diagnostic purposes even though you have never turned on the diagnostic mode nor consented to have it shared with Apple?
Rating: 10 Votes
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christarp
65 months ago
Really happy with how transparent apple is seeming to be. Hopefully they fully explain the situation and if something is going on they will admit it and fix it. This is the first step in the right direction.
Rating: 9 Votes
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mbh
65 months ago
I think Apple knows what kind of scrutiny they are under (fair or unfair, you have to admit it's extreme) and so are unlikely to lie about something like this. Can you imagine the headlines if one of these security researchers actually proved that something they said wasn't true? Right now all we have are accusations, which are a dime a dozen. Tim Cook burps at lunch and there are conspiracy theories on the internet within the hour.
Rating: 9 Votes

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