Yesterday, Apple released an update to iOS, the operating system for the iPhone and iPad. The version number change — 11.4 to 11.4.1 — seems pretty minor, but there are two features in here that I think will be of interest to many attorneys.
First, iOS 11.4.1 improves reliability of syncing mail, contacts and notes with Microsoft Exchange accounts. I know that a large number of law firms use Exchange (and Outlook on the PC or Mac), and thus lots of attorneys use an iPhone and iPad with Exchange. I certainly do. Most of the time it works great, but I have had syncing issues in the past, and indeed I encountered one just last week. There was a contact on my iPhone who did not appear in Outlook on my PC. I don’t know what caused it, and the only solution I came up with was to create a new entry in Outlook on my PC and let that sync automatically to my iPhone, and then delete the former entry on my iPhone so that I didn’t have a duplicate. Hopefully this update will fix these sorts of problems in the future.
Second, iOS 11.4.1 increases security. This is true of every iOS update, and I’m sure that there are lots of ways that iOS 11.4.1 is more secure, but there is one that is notable. I mentioned on June 15 that when iOS 12 comes out this Fall, it will include support for USB Restricted Mode. See that post for more details, but in short, this mode greatly reduces the risk that someone can take your iPhone and plug it into a hardware device that is designed to crack your password by preventing such a device from working if it has been more than an hour since your iPhone was locked. Who has these devices? We know that some law enforcement agencies use a device called GrayKey, but if some of the “good guys” have it, then I’m sure that there are some “bad guys” who have similar devices that are used for hacking purposes which are contrary to the public good — and perhaps contrary to the interest of you and your client, because presumably you have confidential information on your iPhone or iPad protected by the attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product doctrine. If one of these bad actors steals your iPhone or iPad and then connects it to one of these devices quickly enough, maybe he still has a chance of cracking your iPhone, but hopefully there will not be enough time.
It turns out that not only is this feature in iOS 12, it is also in iOS 11 thanks to iOS 11.4.1. I installed this update on my iPhone and iPad last night and the feature seems to work well. To test it, I unlocked my iPad using my thumb print, then I waited for an hour, and then I connected it via a USB cable to my home computer running iTunes. In the past, the iPad just showed up in iTunes. But after installing iOS 11.4.1, when I connected my iPad to my computer more than an hour after I last unlocked it, I saw an alert on the iPad’s lock screen telling me that I had to unlock my iPad before I could use an accessory:
Although USB Restricted Mode is enabled by default in iOS 11.4.1, you can turn it off if you want. In the Settings app, tap on Face ID & Passcode if you have an iOS X, or Touch ID & Passcode if you have an earlier device, and then enter your passcode. On the next screen — the same place where you teach your iPhone your face or your fingerprint — scroll down to the very bottom. The second to last setting is called USB Accessories. Just below it is an explanation of what this new setting does. When switched to the off position, which is the default, you have greater security. If you switch it on, then you are saying that you are allowing your iPhone to be connected to USB devices even if it has been more than an hour since the iPhone was last unlocked. It is a little counter-intuitive to have increased security when something is turned off, so that’s why I wanted to mention this.
Apple released more information on how this new mode works in this post. Note that you can still plug in a power adapter to charge your iPhone or iPad without needing to enter your passcode after an hour. However, Apple warns that there may be some other devices which might not pass a charge unless you first enter your passcode.