Apple FaceTime bug lets you listen in on people you call, even if they haven't picked up their iPhone


Apple FaceTime bug lets you listen in on people you call, even if they haven't picked up their iPhone

 

·        A bug in FaceTime lets you listen in to the audio if you try to call someone — even if they don't pick up.
·        You first video call someone then try to add yourself to the group call.
·         
·        The FaceTime bug seems to be a huge privacy problem.

By Todd Haselton |  January 29, 2019

There's a FaceTime bug that lets you hear through someone else's iPhone, even if they haven't answered your phone call. It was previously reported on Twitter by user Benji Mobb and reported by 9to5Mac.
CNBC tested it and verified that it's a real bug. I tried placing a video call to my editor from my iPhone using Apple's FaceTime app. Then, before he picked up, I used the menu option to add somebody else to the call and, as 9to5Mac's directions state, I added myself to the call. Suddenly, I could hear my editor, even though he never picked up. We continued having a conversation while his phone only gave him the option to answer. There was no indication that the call had already gone through.
The Verge reports that, if the person you're calling tries to end it by tapping the power button on their phone, it sends video but no audio. That means the person calling you can see a video of you or your surroundings as if you'd answered the call. I replicated this with a friend.
Twitter Ads info and privacy
This bug seems to rely on the FaceTime Group Call feature, since you're trying to add another person to the call. Group FaceTime launched last year.
There's obviously a big privacy concern here. You could theoretically call anyone with FaceTime and, using the steps above, listen in on their conversations.
Apple, which is scheduled to report earnings on Tuesday afternoon, said a fix is coming this week. "We're aware of this issue and we have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week," a spokesperson told CNBC. It also deactivated Group FaceTime to prevent people from exploiting the bug before it releases a fix.
In the meantime, and to be extra safe, the fastest fix right now is to just turn off FaceTime. Here's how:
·        Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
·        Choose FaceTime
·        Toggle FaceTime to off.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/apple-facetime-bug-lets-you-listen-even-if-someone-doesnt-answer.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BMW traps alleged thief by remotely locking him in car

BMW traps alleged thief by remotely locking him in car Stealer's Wheel? Seattle police department quotes "Watchmen" movie in a recap of the recent arrest. Tech Culture by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper December 4, 2016 5:00 PM PST It's maybe the most satisfying arrest we can imagine. Seattle police caught an alleged car thief by enlisting the help of car maker BMW to both track and then remotely lock the luckless criminal in the very car he was trying to steal. Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, deputy director of communications for the Seattle Police Department, posted a witty summary of the event on the SPD's blog on Wednesday. Turns out if you're inside a stolen car, it's perhaps not the best time to take a nap. "A car thief awoke from a sound slumber Sunday morning (Nov. 27) to find he had been remotely locked inside a stolen BMW, just as Seattle police officers were bearing down on him," Spangenthal-Lee wrote. The suspect found a ke...
Read more

Report: World’s 1st remote brain surgery via 5G network performed in China

World’s 1st remote brain surgery via 5G network performed in China Published time: 17 Mar, 2019 13:12 ·           A Chinese surgeon has performed the world’s first remote brain surgery using 5G technology, with the patient 3,000km away from the operating doctor. Dr. Ling Zhipei remotely implanted a neurostimulator into his patient’s brain on Saturday, Chinese state-run media  reports . The surgeon manipulated the instruments in the Beijing-based PLAGH hospital from a clinic subsidiary on the southern Hainan island, located 3,000km away. The surgery is said to have lasted three hours and ended successfully. The patient, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, is said to be feeling well after the pioneering operation. The doctor used a computer connected to the next-generation 5G network developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei. The new device enabled a near real-time connection, according to Dr. Ling.  “You barely feel that th...
Read more

New ATM's: withdraw money with veins in your finger

New cash machines: withdraw money with veins in your finger Cash machine technology that reads the pattern of finger veins is already available in Japan and Poland   By Telegraph Reporters 6:59PM BST 15 May 2014 Cash machines could soon be installed with devices that identify customers by reading the veins in their fingers. The technology is already being rolled out in Poland, where 1,730 cash machines will this year be installed with readers, negating the need for a debit card and Pin. Developed by Hitachi, the Japanese electronics firm, the machines read the patterns of the veins just below the surface of the skin on your finger using infra-red sensors. The light is partially absorbed by haemoglobin in the veins to capture a unique finger vein pattern profile, which is matched to a profile. The technology is used by Japanese banks and also in Turkey, offering “groundbreaking levels of accuracy and speed of authentication”, Hitachi said, which in t...
Read more