While numerous new features were announced when Apple’s iOS 14 debuted, at least one important change in the new mobile operating system wasn’t mentioned. A new security system called “BlastDoor” sandboxes the Messages app from the rest of iOS.
ZDNet reports that this new security feature was discovered by Samuel Groß, a Google Project Zero security researcher. While iOS apps already work in sandbox mode by default, BlastDoor adds an extra layer of protection for iMessage.
Its role is to take incoming messages and unpack and process their content inside a secure and isolated environment, where any malicious code hidden inside a message can’t interact or harm the underlying operating system or retrieve with user data.
iMessage has been the target of multiple attacks in the past, and researchers have said that Apple’s messaging service was “doing a poor job of sanitizing incoming user data.” Exploits have allowed bad actors to take over an iPhone with the mere sending of a text message or photo to the device.
Groß says that he believes Apple has finally decided to listen to feedback from the community to improve the iMessage security. “It’s great to see Apple putting aside the resources for these kinds of large refactorings to improve end-users’ security,” the researcher said.
More details about BlastDoor can be found in Google’s official Project Zero blog.
(Via 9to5Mac)
