JVTech News Don’t use your iPhone like that at work! It could cost you your job
Published on 11/11/2024 at 5:20 p.m.
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A security company has raised the alarm about a feature on iPhones due to privacy concerns it could cause in professional use. Apple was quick to react.
Available since the deployment of iOS 18, the iPhone Mirroring function offered by Apple on the iPhone allows you to interact remotely with the smartphone running iOS from a Mac with macOS Sequoia. This is an interesting solution in more than one way, notably because iPhone stays locked and therefore the manipulations made within its interface remain discreet.
However, IT security company Sevco recently estimated that using the iPhone Mirroring feature in a professional context involving a personal iPhone and a Mac installed at a workplace represents a significant risk for data confidentiality… And here’s why.
Private data accessible by your boss
The problem comes from the way Recopy works: in fact, when the user opens an application on their iPhone from their Mac on which this mirroring function is activated, this records data related to this application on the Apple computer. These little pieces of applications are then installed discreetly in the /Users/Library/Daemon Containers/Data/Library/Caches/ folder of macOS Sequoia.
So far, nothing seems serious… But a new problem: Sevco points out that many companies use security tools to scan their employees’ Macsin order to inventory the programs installed on their machines. And the latter can therefore recover the metadata contained in the files of the applications used with Copy of the iPhone.
In other words, personal data belonging to employees can be retrieved by the company’s IT departmentsand be consulted by managers, for example. “This could include sensitive information, such as using a VPN in a country where internet access is restricted, installing a dating app revealing sexual orientation in a jurisdiction where legal protections are weak or non-existent, or an application linked to a health problem that the employee prefers to keep private »explains Sevco in particular.
A service still inaccessible in France
Sevco quickly indicated that it had informed Apple of this discovery. The Cupertino company immediately began developing a patch, which was released at the end of October. From now on, personal data remains personal, even when using iPhone Mirroring.
It should also be noted that this feature is not yet available in Europe : just like for Apple Intelligence, the American company drags its feet, citing regulations that are too strictparticularly with regard to the Digital Markets Act, which came into force at the start of the year. However, it may not be any worse for Apple, because the flaw in its iPhone Mirroring functionality could have been considered a GDPR violationand therefore cost him dearly. Now that the problem is fixed, Apple might want to offer this functionality to Europeans one day soon…
