9 to 5 Mac is reporting that in the latest iOS 11.4 beta, Apple’s added a feature that turns off lightning cable access to an iPhone that hasn’t been unlocked in a week. There are several rumors of black-box style security devices that can break open an iPhone through the lightning cable. This appears to be Apple’s response. I like that Apple continues to attempt to protect user data. I understand the law and order crowd’s desire to have a back door into the iPhone for the good guys but I agree with Apple that you can’t make a back door that the bad guys can’t also ultimately use. 

I’m curious how long this will go before governments start trying to compel Apple to open the iPhone up more for official snooping. This isn’t just a thing in the United States. I’m sure China and several other countries would like their own back door. 

It seems that Apple’s approach isn’t to say much publicly but instead continue to take little steps to keep the iPhone locked down. I don’t think it’s a mistake that this feature will release as a part of a small 11.4 update instead of being a banner feature with iOS 12, that gets announced next month.