Criminals Use Apple's Recovery Key to Lock Users Out of Their Stolen iPhones: Report

Apple introduced recovery keys with the release of iOS 15 in 2020.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 21 April 2023 14:24 IST

Criminals Use Apple's Recovery Key to Lock Users Out of Their Stolen iPhones: Report

Photo Credit: Apple

iPhone users are recommended to use Face ID or Touch ID with a biometric lock to unlock their handsets

Highlights

Thieves allegedly changed Frasca's Apple ID password
The recovery key is a 28-character code
Apple reportedly responded to the issue

Apple's recovery key feature allows iPhone users to reset their Apple ID password or regain access to their Apple ID account. Now, a Wall Street Journal report shows how cybercriminals and thieves can lock a user out of a stolen iPhone by using Apple's advanced security setting. With the randomly generated 28-character sequence, a thief can reset the original iPhone owner's Apple ID password in the Settings app. The criminals can then turn off Find My iPhone on the device to prevent the victim from tracking its location, and erase the data on the phone.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, 46-year-old Greg Frasca lost access to his iPhone 14 Pro, stolen from a bar in Chicago in October. Thieves spotted him entering his passcode at the bar and used it to change Frasca's Apple ID password after the phone was stolen. They allegedly enabled the recovery key feature and used the 28-character code to block Frasca from tracking the stolen device through Apple's Find My feature. This prevents the victim from remotely erasing the device via iCloud and accessing files like photos and videos.

Once criminals get access to the stolen iPhone, they can steal money via Apple Pay or other banking and financial apps. They can also gain access to sensitive data on the iPhone including photos, files and emails.

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Apple introduced recovery keys in 2020 with the release of iOS 15 to improve the security of Apple accounts. A recovery key can be used to reset the password or regain access to an Apple ID. Once a user generates a recovery key, Apple automatically turns off account recovery. If the user loses the device and recovery key, they could be locked out of their account permanently. The recovery key can be accessed via Settings or System Preferences on a trusted device signed in with your Apple ID.

Apple reportedly responded to the issue, saying it is “always investigating additional protections against emerging threats like this one.” The report quotes an Apple spokesperson as saying “We sympathize with people who have had this experience and we take all attacks on our users very seriously, no matter how rare. We work tirelessly every day to protect our users' accounts and data, and are always investigating additional protections against emerging threats like this one”.

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The latest incident highlights the need of how important it is to keep your iPhone safe. In public spaces, iPhone users are recommended to use Face ID or Touch ID, Apple's biometric unlocking mechanisms, to unlock their handsets. Also, users are advised to use complex passwords with numbers and letters, to protect their devices.

Apple is opening its first stores in India, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. What does this mean for Apple customers in India? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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iPhone 14 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Superb display with always-on mode
Excellent overall performance
Good battery life
All cameras take high-quality stills and video
Regular iOS updates for many years

Bad
Extremely expensive
Relatively slow charging and transfer speed
Gets warm under heavy workloads
Limited customisation for Dynamic Island

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 Pro review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Apple, Apple ID, Apple Recovery Key, iPhone 14 Pro, iOS 15

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More