The flaw in Apple’s iOS that means ANYONE can send a text from your locked phone
- Flaw lets someone send texts or make calls using ‘Hey, Siri’ on a locked iPhone
- The person has to have a similar voice to the device owner in order for it to work
- Issue is similar to a flaw in iOS 11 where Siri read notifications on a locked device
Siri just doesn’t know when to keep quiet.
A security flaw in Apple’s digital assistant makes it so that users can easily send a message or make a phone call on someone else’s locked device, according to Quartz.
All users need to do is take advantage of the ‘Hey Siri’ feature, which activates the digital assistant once those wake words are spoken.
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Siri just doesn’t know when to keep quiet. A security flaw in Apple’s digital assistant makes it so that users can easily send a message or make a phone call on someone else’s device
Apple offers Siri on every iPhone released after the iPhone 6S, which was launched in September 2015.
And while the technology can be useful for things like setting alarms and checking the weather with just your voice, it can also be manipulated for more nefarious purposes.
Quartz found that users can tell Siri to send a message or phone call on a locked iPhone – even when it’s not their own device.
For example, users can tell Siri to call the last number that was dialed on the device.
Additionally, someone nearby can say ‘Hey Siri, text mom’ and it will begin composing a message.
However, the catch is that the person must have a voice that’s similar to the device owner in order for the command to be executed successfully, Quartz noted.
The ‘Hey Siri’ flaw is similar to a loophole discovered last year in iOS 11 where Apple’s digital assistant would read your hidden notifications even when the device is locked
The flaw is reminiscent of a similar loophole discovered last year where Siri would read your hidden notifications even when your device is locked.
It meant that if anyone asked Siri to read a user’s notifications, she would read them aloud if they were sent via third-party apps like Facebook Messenger, Slack or Signal.
It’s unclear if Apple resolved the bug in iOS 12. The bug was discovered in iOS 11.
For users that want their messages to stay private, they can take extra precautions in their device’s Settings.
Users can disable Siri whenever their phone is locked by going to Settings, selecting Siri & Search and then disabling ‘Allow Siri When Locked.’
Additionally, ‘Hey Siri’ can be disabled by going to Settings, selecting Siri & Search and turning off ‘Listen for Hey Siri.’
