Crime blotter: Apple Store crash update and repairman texts adult photos
In the latest Apple Crime Blotter, a woman sentenced in Capitol riot wiped an iPhone, and AirPods catch teens accused of breaking into Mets' spring training facility.
Apple Store in Hingham, Mass.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
After the charges, the driver's attorney, Joan Fund, declared that she was "astounded" by the murder charge, per the Associated Press, especially since the charges in the previous arraignment were for reckless operation of a motor vehicle and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation.
In addition to the criminal charges, some victims have sued the man, Apple, and the company that manages the store.
According to the Justice Department press release, the woman not only directed another rioter to take a laptop from the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but reset her iPhone to prevent law enforcement from gaining access to information on it.
ABC 13 reports the 26-year-old employee of the Gadget Cure Cell Phone Repair Store in Cleveland, Tex., was supposed to be repairing the woman's phone, but sent about 65 images and five videos to himself. The woman realized what had happened when she got an Apple Watch notification that the messages were sent to an unknown number.
In addition, the woman said the owner of the store -- the employee's brother -- offered her $500 "if she agreed not to tell."
They were caught, the news outlet said, when officers traced a pair of stolen AirPods to a home where the suspects were found.
The iPads were used as the business' point-of-sale system.
"If anyone tries to flog you an iPad or some expensive bottles of vodka in the next few days," the company said in an Instagram post, "please let us know."
The defendant, at the time a 17-year-old high school student, was ticketed in 2020 for a municipal ordinance violation. The original ticket had only accused the woman of "having" the fellow student's AirPods, not intentionally taking them.
Stolen jewelry was also found by police at the scene.
The woman returned some of the items, but not the Apple Watch.
The man pled guilty to criminal damage of data within iCloud accounts but was given a two-year suspended sentence.
According to TAPInto Doylestown, the thieves were a man and a woman, and the woman claimed to be the recipient.
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Apple Store in Hingham, Mass.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
Driver's lawyer "astounded" by Apple Store crash murder indictment
In late March, a Massachusetts man was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and 19 other criminal counts, after crashing his car into the Apple Store in Hingham, Mass.After the charges, the driver's attorney, Joan Fund, declared that she was "astounded" by the murder charge, per the Associated Press, especially since the charges in the previous arraignment were for reckless operation of a motor vehicle and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation.
In addition to the criminal charges, some victims have sued the man, Apple, and the company that manages the store.
Woman sentenced on January 6 charges reset her iPhone to delete evidence
A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for her participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The charges she was sentenced on include the felonies of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder and resisting or impeding law enforcement officers, as well as misdemeanors.According to the Justice Department press release, the woman not only directed another rioter to take a laptop from the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but reset her iPhone to prevent law enforcement from gaining access to information on it.
Texas woman has nude photos stolen from iPhone by repairman
Police in Texas have arrested an employee of a cell phone repair store after a woman claimed he had stolen nude photos from her iPhone and sent to them to himself.ABC 13 reports the 26-year-old employee of the Gadget Cure Cell Phone Repair Store in Cleveland, Tex., was supposed to be repairing the woman's phone, but sent about 65 images and five videos to himself. The woman realized what had happened when she got an Apple Watch notification that the messages were sent to an unknown number.
In addition, the woman said the owner of the store -- the employee's brother -- offered her $500 "if she agreed not to tell."
AirPods help catch teens accused of stealing from Mets spring training facility
Two teenagers have been arrested for carrying out a theft spree at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla., the spring training home of the New York Mets. According to WPBF, the two teens used a baseball bat to break into the building, and they stole watches, jewelry, and Mets paraphernalia.They were caught, the news outlet said, when officers traced a pair of stolen AirPods to a home where the suspects were found.
Four iPads stolen from Manchester coffee shop
A popular coffee shop in Manchester, England, suffered a break-in in which four iPads, as well as liquor stock and a charity collection, were taken. Manchester Evening News recounts the theft occurred in late March at The Feel Good Club in Manchester.The iPads were used as the business' point-of-sale system.
"If anyone tries to flog you an iPad or some expensive bottles of vodka in the next few days," the company said in an Instagram post, "please let us know."
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A post shared by Feel Good Club. (@wearefeelgoodclub)
Prosecutors in Chicago suburb pursuing three-year-old case involving stolen AirPods
Prosecutors in the city of Naperville, Ill., are moving forward with a case accusing a then-17-year-old of stealing a pair of AirPods three years ago. According to ProPublica, the prosecution is moving forward even though that jurisdiction is mostly no longer ticketing students in school, and Illinois is considering banning that practice at the state level.The defendant, at the time a 17-year-old high school student, was ticketed in 2020 for a municipal ordinance violation. The original ticket had only accused the woman of "having" the fellow student's AirPods, not intentionally taking them.
Hong Kong policeman arrested after tracked iPad led to his apartment
A Hong Kong police officer who was part of a team investigating recent burglaries was arrested after a stolen iPad was tracked to his residence. The South China Morning Post reports a woman whose iPad was taken tracked it, leading to the flat of the policeman.Stolen jewelry was also found by police at the scene.
Woman arrested for stealing Apple Watch, piggy bank
An Arkansas woman was arrested in early March and accused of stealing numerous items from a home, including an Apple Watch and a piggy bank containing $1,500. According to KTLO, the thefts were from a family for whom she had babysat.The woman returned some of the items, but not the Apple Watch.
Man previously convicted on child pornography charges avoids jail for iCloud hacking
A man from Ireland who was convicted in 2018 of possessing child pornography was facing a separate prosecution from hacking into the iCloud accounts of three different people. However, Sunday World reports he has avoided jail time in the iCloud case.The man pled guilty to criminal damage of data within iCloud accounts but was given a two-year suspended sentence.
iPhone stolen from delivery to CVS
Thieves were able to steal a package delivered to a Pennsylvania CVS, containing an iPhone, by impersonating the person to whom it was being delivered. The phone was shipped via UPS.According to TAPInto Doylestown, the thieves were a man and a woman, and the woman claimed to be the recipient.
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Comments
People shouldn't feel like they should stop doing things because they can't trust device security to protect it, that's something Tim Cook has spoken about many times regarding privacy. Apple needs a new feature for iOS and Mac like a biometric vault that can only be opened by that person's biometrics and not a simple passcode and not unlocked by default when accessing the phone.
For data recovery, they'd only be able to recover the encrypted vault and the user would have to unlock it.
Just now, biometrics on Apple devices are treated as convenience features that are secondary to passcodes and people often use basic passcodes. This means they are locking access to their entire life savings, all their personal messages and photos behind passcodes like 0000 without knowing it because they assume that their iPhone is secure behind Face ID or Touch ID.
When they hand their phone over to a service tech, the tech person will ask for their passcode. They think, no problem, at least all the biometric stuff is secure. Nope, the passcode lets the tech person add their own biometrics and it will unlock everything. They can clone the entire phone and hack it later. Apple employees are less likely to do it, premium resellers and other repair shops more likely but none of them should have the option.
People could wipe their device before repair but some people have no backup options so they'd lose some data.
Apple would just have to introduce a new feature in iOS 17: Secure Vault. Open a Vault app or use Settings to create new vaults. Secure the vault using a biometric scan and no other biometrics can open it. Optionally have a backup code to unlock it and codes should have minimum security requirements. Then drag apps into the vault. The vault will automatically close when the phone is put to sleep and will need to be unlocked. It should have a setting that can be enabled that periodically scans the face when using vault apps and lock if someone unfamiliar is using the vault apps and the original owner can allow it for a period of time. When doing backup/restore, it may be difficult to transfer the biometrics from one device to another but the backup can copy the vault contents and encrypt it differently on the backup device.
Another security measure is to prevent changing Apple ID just via device passcode. That option should definitely be locked behind further security.