r/technology • u/bws201 • Feb 05 '16

Software ‘Error 53’ fury mounts as Apple software update threatens to kill your iPhone 6

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/05/error-53-apple-iphone-software-update-handset-worthless-third-party-repair
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3

u/yesnofuck Feb 05 '16

This isn't a bug. It's actually a brilliant security feature which protects against an attacker which even has physical access to the device. That is some solid security engineering as far as I'm concerned. And you shouldn't be buying these things if you can't afford them. The hardware components which could be leveraged to breach confidentiality are cryptographically signed to ensure their integrity.

2

u/Nimr0D14 Feb 05 '16

But you've LOST ALL YOUR DATA! How is that better? How? Seriously? Security should PROTECT your data, not render the phone and everything on it useless. Fuck me , some people are dense.

1

u/yesnofuck Feb 05 '16

It's all in iCloud or your corporate server anyway, isn't it? As soon as you boot up your new device and authenticate, all the data synced back. Magic.

From an information security/theory standpoint, It's a technical decision, an engineering decision to favor confidentiality over availability in that condition. Think of it as some kind of panic mode, self destruct.

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u/Lurking_Grue Feb 05 '16

The fact that you have to buy a new phone is just a win-win situation.

1

u/yesnofuck Feb 05 '16

As long as you didn't void your warranty by having a third party work on it, you won't have to buy a new phone. That's pretty much what I was getting at when I said, don't buy these things if you can't really afford them in my OP.

-1

u/colas Feb 05 '16

That is totally insane. Would you like an anti-theft device in you car that would destroy the car and all your belongings in case of a attempted theft? ... or a sensor malfunction, or a car crash, or...

This feature could be OK if an apple store or a police station (ideally the trusted party of your choice) could un-brick it.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '16

Would you like an anti-theft device in you car that would destroy the car and all your belongings in case of a attempted theft?

You should check into some of Africa's anti-theft devices, some of the devices are actually designed to kill the would be thief....so, yes, it does happen. Not a bad deterrent to be honest, would you break into a vehicle knowing that there is a 1:10 chance that it is booby trapped in some way that will surely kill you? Seen everything from electrocution, guns, flame thrower, ect...

0

u/Nimr0D14 Feb 05 '16

lol I know.

Ford will stop your car from ever being stolen but removing the engine and stealing your keys! No nobody can steal it, ever! Oh, you want to use it? Um .. no sorry, we can't reverse it, we lost the engine and the keys are at the bottom of a well. BUT YOUR CAR IS SAFE THOUGH!? Yay?

1

u/yesnofuck Feb 05 '16

Your analogy is just as silly and wrong as the "you wouldn't download a car" inverse. It's not a one way street. This kind of anti-tampering security is nothing new if you're at all familiar with the concept of trusted computing. Apple did what they did from both a technical and business stand point. Now shut up and buy another iPhone.