iCloud unlocking goes mainstream, Apple turns a blind eye

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[Zuriki]

The important thing here is that it is most likely an Apple employee who is accepting payment to unlock stolen iPhones, once again undermining that argument that the only way iPhones can remain secure is if Apple retains total control over the device. It's not third-parties unlocking stolen phones, it's Apple's own representatives via a mediator.

[friendlyfire]

I had a phone stolen, and it turns out it was my responsibility to notify each and every phone carrier in the country myself of the IMEI of the stolen phone. I was only able to reach one company, by email. Obviously the carriers have even less interest in following through than Apple. It's a total sham.

[michaelstoliker]

You made the point that Apple has no interest in fixing the problem as it makes them more money. This is normal human behavior for business owners. In the 1980's I saw this first hand when I went to the owner of a dealership I worked at. I had observed a mechanic who had a home business getting parts ostensibly for the car he was working on. Instead, he was taking the parts home and installing them on a car at his home business. I saw him hiding the parts under his work bench and pretending to install them on the car on his lift. He was just washing the original parts and re-installing them. When I took this information to the dealership owner, he told me that this mechanic was his top producer selling parts and repairs and consistently beating book time for repairs (no wonder since he wasn't actually repairing anything). Nothing was going to change and the mechanic was forgiven for ripping off the dealership and the customers because he was making the dealership wealthier, and this is what I was competing against as an honest mechanic. A couple months later I had the opportunity to get into plant automation in a different industry and I jumped at it.

[VeX]

I actually worked at apple for a while and the whole interior structure is like a club/cult. If you ask generic questions you will get a happy smile and answer. But if you ask a question that requires any critical thinking skills (or that they aren't allowed to answer) you get pushed aside. Several times during internal video meetings I would ask the presenters questions that would shut them down for a second while they ask for more questions and would always be publicly told "We will get that information for you, and get back to you after the meeting!" Of course that never actually happened. It's so infuriating to care about a job that only sees the customers as a paycheck.

[TomJones-winh]

Contact the media and have them run articles and interviews. Nothing gets a companies attention like a public shaming in front of millions of eyeballs.

[fix-it-flo]

Apple should only lock devices marked as lost or stolen. This creates a massive number of devices that are rendered unusable just because somebody forgot to remove it from their account. Also why do they blur the email on the activation screen on a locked device? That literally prevents people from contacting the owner..

[mskiptr]

Apple should:
a) patch this obvious gap in their security model
b) *let the owner fully control the device*
c) not let their employees control any device against the owner's will
d) make it easy to tell if a device you're buying is legitimate
e) make it easy to transfer ownership of a device (especially in case of an unresponsive previous owner)

[mrplowjrezv]

Apple is not going to admit and publicize flaw until they have a permanent fix to the flaw and business process that it precipitates from. The fix needs to be turned into a feature or selling point

[jessicav]

The employee they are reaching has extremely strict rules which prevent them from replying in any meaningful way. They have to select from a list of possible responses and none of them make sense, so they just keep selecting "please provide more information" and hope the person will go away. I will never understand why big companies are all convinced that letting employees think for themselves is the greatest evil; employees thinking for themselves is what makes the world work.

[ross]

The PR department has a lot of power at Apple. The way to fix this is not by reporting a bug, but by contacting journalists.

[RealRickCox]

You've been a thorn in Apple's side for a long time. Maybe guys like you bringing this to a larger audience will finally force their hand. I definitely agree that this is a security issue that they should fix. I don't want my stolen iPhone being valuable to anyone!

[jackconrad]

This explains the motive behind the huge heist that happened at an Apple Store quite a few months back. I wondered why someone would go to so much effort when the devices could so easily just be locked down

[ethanmoon]

As someone who worked Apple support, most Apple employees have difficulty unlocking a phone and many people lose either their phone, icloud data, or both. Not from thieves, but BECAUSE of the "security".

[ArleyMcBlain]

I think on Fridays there should be a second kind of video - one where Louis highlights something that is making his day actually lovely.

[quinndirks]

If it wasn't mainstream before, it will be soon. This is the first I'm hearing about it. Thanks Louis!

[BurninatorTheTrogdor]

I've never used an iPhone and I store everything at home. I feel like most people never learned how to store files in school. Storing files and backing those files up was the first thing we learned, and it was on those old iMacs. That's come full circle! Remember 100 megabyte Zip Drives? I still have some of those!

[alltechrepairs]

I'm glad you highlighted this issue. I buy, repair and resell phones mainly to customers still in contract who do not wish to repair broken phones. Over the last number of years I am regularly surprised at the prices paid for iCloud locked, screen locked, broken screen iPhones. I believe phones blocked in US/EU are allowed operate when shipped to Africa, Asia, S.America otherwise why the premium price. Just my two cents

[verumignis]

When the average person cant unlock a phone but thieves can, something is seriously wrong.

[joesworld]

Jennifer Lawrence has tried to warn people of Apple's "security".

[LokiScarletWasHere]

I still remember when these unlocks were only possible within a very small department of Apple, that held all their employees liable. And I said the moment they outsource this, is the moment the call will come from inside the house.
I guess they started outsourcing their FMI claims.