Apple announces Lockdown Mode in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura to protect against “highly targeted cyberattacks” by disabling features, apps, and more

Apple today announced a new Lockdown Mode coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura.

MacRumors 2022-07-07 Joe Rossignol

Context & Ripple Effects

Lockdown Mode extends Apple’s iOS 16 and macOS Ventura security agenda beyond routine platform features: the same releases were also slated to introduce Passkeys for passwordless sign-in. It gives people facing highly targeted attacks a deliberately restrictive operating mode across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Follow-on testing detailed the trade-off: Lockdown Mode limits message link previews and FaceTime, while Apple later added FIDO key support and broader data-protection options in its platform updates. The arc is toward layered protections that users can selectively enable rather than a single default setting.

First-order effects

People who enable Lockdown Mode gain a cross-device option to reduce exposed features and apps, at the immediate cost of limiting normal communications and web behavior.
Apple makes high-risk protection a built-in capability of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura rather than a separate product or service.

Second-order effects

Messaging, calling, and web services used on Apple devices must accommodate users whose Lockdown settings block or constrain interactions such as link previews and FaceTime contacts.
Apple’s subsequent FIDO-key and data-protection releases reinforce Lockdown Mode as one layer in a broader security stack, giving security-conscious users multiple controls with different usability costs.

Third-order effects

If Apple continues packaging restrictive modes with stronger authentication and data protections, consumer-device security will increasingly be segmented by threat level rather than delivered as one uniform experience.
The model shifts competition in ecosystem cyber defense toward how well platforms can offer meaningful attack-surface reduction without making core services unusable.

The trend: Apple is moving toward layered, user-selectable ecosystem defenses that trade convenience for protection against more targeted threats.

Discussion

@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
NEW: @Apple's #LockdownMode is radical reduction of the threat surface of an iPhone. Cannot overstate how big a change this is for Apple. So important that people at higher digital risk have the option to harden their phones. Some thoughts 1/ https://www.apple.com/... https://twi…
@lorenzofb Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on x
Someone is testing Lockdown Mode for me on iOS 16 beta. When turned on you can't even click on links sent via iMessage. https://twitter.com/...
@rondeibert @rondeibert on x
NEW: @apple announces #LockdownMode, a major change to iPhone security that promises to help high risk users + other actions to hold the mercenary spyware industry to account https://www.apple.com/... My thread w context & details 👇
@xor Parker Higgins on x
This is a really great set of features and a real step forward for people targeted by the most sophisticated adversaries. Also pretty reasonable defaults for the professionally paranoid! https://twitter.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
New: Apple has announced Lockdown Mode for iOS 16, a new “extreme” security feature to block targeted attacks on high-profile individuals. Feature severely limits Messages, Safari, Apple Services, other features to reduce endpoints for hackers to attack with software like Pegasus
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
6/ With #LockdownMode @Apple just raised the bar around what's possible. I'm excited to see how it works out for high risk users. There will be a learning curve & unexpected lessons. I'm also hoping we see similar efforts from other companies. Also, the 2x bounty = smart. https:/…
@markseibel Mark Seibel on x
For years, Apple added features to its devices that increased their vulnerability to Pegasus and other hacking tools, and there wasn't a thing a user could do about it. Now Apple has figured out a way to let a user disable iMessage and other exploitables. https://www.washingtonpo…
@rondeibert @rondeibert on x
.@apple's donation to the Dignity and Justice fund is very positive The @FordFoundation managed fund will help nurture the growing community of researchers & advocacy orgs holding mercenary spyware vendors accountable... https://twitter.com/...
@ngleicher Nathaniel Gleicher on x
This is great to see! We increasingly see threat actors compromise devices, then move laterally across a wide range of social platforms. The phone is increasingly the foundation. Kudos to @Apple and glad to see a recommendation for targeted iPhone users out there this fall! https…
@markseibel Mark Seibel on x
Waiting to see if law enforcement objects because it also disables hard wired connections to a device that might have been seized by police. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@ashleygjovik @ashleygjovik on x
I want threat notifications when *Apple* attacks me. https://twitter.com/...
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
5/In #LockdownMode, we see high-impact changes that stomp on specific attack categories that mercenary spyware companies et al. exploit. Does this cover all possible desirable things? No. Not yet (one can hope!) But this is a broad set of welcome protections. https://twitter.com/…
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
2/ When you notify users that they've been targeted with sophisticated threats, they inevitably ask: ‘How can I make my phone safer?’ We haven't had many great, honest answers that really make an impact. Hardening a consumer handset is really out of reach.
@eff @eff on x
Apple has debuted a ‘Lockdown Mode’ for high-risk users being targeted by spyware used by governments and law enforcement. We congratulate them for providing protection to human rights defenders, heads of state, lawyers, activists, journalists, and more https://www.apple.com/...
@benadida Ben Adida on x
This is awesome. We need to start distinguishing between types of users and their different threat models. Way to go Apple. https://www.apple.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Great product-level pushback against NSO Group-style attacks on activists, dissidents, journalists and more. Good for Apple https://www.axios.com/...
@mikko @mikko on x
Interesting news from Apple. https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
7/ ‘Where did #LockdownMode come from?’ @apple gets a ton of credit! This can't have been easy. They also get credit for listening to researchers & nonprofits... who have called for versions of this for years. Good to see a big company take the chance.
@bigzaphod Sean Heber on x
Interesting - It's like Apple just gave us all a list of the services and APIs they don't think are truly secure. Not sure that was the intention... but... 😛 https://twitter.com/...
@rondeibert @rondeibert on x
Apple took a gamble, knowing groups like @citizenlab will continue to do this type of independent research holding them to account Other tech companies should now step up and match
@dangoodin001 Dan Goodin on x
Imagine the number of NSO victims who would have been spared if Apple and Google employed this 5 years ago. Apple, to its credit, has rolled it out now. I asked Google earlier today if it had plans and I got a non-responsive answer. https://twitter.com/...
@markruffalo Mark Ruffalo on x
Apple will protect its users from the likes of Pegasus and those anti democratic forces in the world that use it. https://www.apple.com/...
@campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x
This is a great and fantastic feature. It's definitely not for everyone and you should not be using it, since it degrades iOS performance and features, but it's great from a security standpoint. https://twitter.com/...
@rondeibert @rondeibert on x
To be sure, all tech platforms have problems - @apple included (more below) But today @apple is setting an example of what tech platforms can do to positively impact this space & reduce harms https://twitter.com/...
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
I probably can't claim credit for any of this, but I'd like to pretend. https://blog.cryptographyengineering.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@mattblaze Matt Blaze on x
I've not yet had the chance to play with the forthcoming iPhone “lockdown” mode, but it appears to be a well thought out set of countermeasures to a very specific set of threats. The challenge will be explaining what it does - and doesn't - protect against.
@gregjoz Greg Joswiak on x
Our goal is to provide users with the very best security. For the few targeted by mercenary spyware, Lockdown Mode will help keep them protected. And we're funding efforts at the @FordFoundation to investigate, expose, and prevent these attacks. https://www.apple.com/...
@ihackbanme Zuk on x
Unfortunately, *none* would have been spared. Look at the CVEs in the last 5 years. You can be certain, attackers will always find a way. Defenders job is to detect and react. Visibility is key for blue teams. https://twitter.com/...
@rondeibert @rondeibert on x
.@apple's newly released #LockdownMode will reduce the attack surface, increase costs for spyware firms, & thus make it much harder for repressive govts to hack high risk users Let's hope that it also helps cut down on real-life harms... https://twitter.com/...
@rondeibert @rondeibert on x
Meanwhile, @apple's threat notifications have alerted otherwise unwitting victims & has precipitated numerous new & ongoing investigations worldwide by @citizenlab & others They shook a tree and victims have fallen into ours and others' laps https://twitter.com/...
@lorenzofb Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on x
NEW: Apple just announced a new feature for high-risk users who may be targeted by government malware. “Lockdown Mode” turns of several features that reduce “the threat surface for whole categories of attacks,” according to @jsrailton. https://www.vice.com/...
@j0hnnyxm4s @j0hnnyxm4s on x
Could this finally be the safe and secure Enterprise phone we've been waiting 20 years for? https://twitter.com/...
@evacide Eva on x
Apple's announcement also gave a bunch of additional details about how its $10 million grant for expanded research into mercenary spyware is going to work. https://www.apple.com/...
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
I would turn on this new iOS ‘Lockdown Mode’ for some of my family members to protect them from exploits installed through configuration profiles if there was an option to allow iMessage attachments in Lockdown Mode. https://twitter.com/...
@shortformernie Ernie Smith on x
Apple apparently is offering something akin to an airgapping feature. https://www.apple.com/...
@gossithedog Kevin Beaumont on x
Really good move by Apple. https://t.co/QXIvO1k47J
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
Apple says Lockdown Mode will be enabled in the next beta versions of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura, which I'm guessing will be released any minute now given the timing of this announcement, but let's see. https://twitter.com/...
@tonyajoriley Tonya Riley on x
New: Apple is rolling out a new feature to help high-risk users lockdown their phones from spyware. It's the company's latest effort to push back against surveillance companies like NSO Group https://www.cyberscoop.com/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
Apple made an iPhone privacy feature for billionaires, government officials, corporate executives, etc. https://twitter.com/...
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
NEW: Apple announces a new “Lockdown Mode” for iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura — designed to fight targeted hacking like Pegasus by disabling just enough features that device is THAT much safer. https://www.cnet.com/...
@josephmenn Joseph Menn on x
Important: Apple unveils new security “Lockdown Mode” that lets high-value hacking targets give up functionality and cut off the attack surface used by NSO Group and top spyware makers. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@glennf Glenn Fleishman on x
This is goddamned awesome: Apple adds Lockdown Mode this fall for users targeted by government spyware https://www.apple.com/...
@anthony Anthony DeRosa on x
Apple said Wednesday that it will introduce an innovative security feature called “Lockdown Mode” to give potential targets of government hacking an easy way to make their iPhones safer https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@bzamayo Benjamin Mayo on x
Really interesting move by Apple. Lockdown Mode aims to disable features that are common actor vectors used by malicious state actors, which can lead to arbitrary code execution. https://9to5mac.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Here's what the Lockdown Mode set up looks like on an iPhone https://twitter.com/...
@evacide Eva on x
Apple introduces an ultra-secure Lockdown Mode for high risk users who are concerned about being targeted with mercenary spyware: https://www.apple.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Story on Apple's new iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura Lockdown Mode to prevent cyber attacks: https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@vmanancourt Vincent Manancourt on x
Apple's introduces “Lockdown Mode” which allows select iPhone users to boost protections against spyware. https://www.apple.com/...
@andrewcouts Andrew Couts on x
NEW: Apple's rolling out “Lockdown Mode” in iOS 16 to protect people at risk of spyware like NSO Group's Pegasus, @lilyhnewman reports Tip @techmeme https://www.wired.com/...
@skirchy Stephanie Kirchgaessner on x
Apple did not always take the threat of NSO's Pegasus and other spyware very seriously. It is now https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x
Apple adds a new lockdown mode for those that suspect they might be targeted by powerful foes: https://www.apple.com/...
@ashishchauhan Ashish Chauhan on x
Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode is meant to stop state-sponsored hacking https://t.co/...
@rosyna Rosyna Keller on x
Mercenary spyware is a huge problem. Apple announces Lockdown Mode coming to iOS 16 and macOS 13. It significantly reduces attack surfaces by disabling some features. Apple has also doubled the bug bounty for qualifying breaks in Lockdown Mode. https://www.apple.com/... https://t…
@nicoleperlroth @nicoleperlroth on x
This is great news and hopefully a template for the software embedded into our critical infrastructure. https://twitter.com/...
@reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x
Apple is introducing LOCKDOWN MODE! It's a new, super-secure option for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users under threat of nation-state level attacks And here's a *ton* of detail on how it works... and why! https://t.co/qXJSkBhs4y https://t.co/ffokkykSkP
@inafried Ina Fried on x
New: Apple's new iPhone “lockdown” mode protects potential targets of NSI Group-style attacks. https://t.co/Ev8RKWcG89
@macrumors @macrumors on x
Apple Announces New Lockdown Mode on iOS 16 With ‘Extreme’ Level of Security https://www.macrumors.com/... by @rsgnl https://twitter.com/...

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