FBI reveals to Apple the first information its vulnerabilities

I do not think that what we are going to tell you today is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, although I have added some allusion in the image that heads this post. The case is that the FBI has informed Apple about a vulnerability who had discovered that it affects older iPhones and Macs. This is the first time that the federals share information of this type with the Cupertino company and have done so under the “Vulnerability Action Process” with the intention of revealing the security weaknesses at the same time they are discovered.

The Vulnerability Equities Process, the name in the natural language of this process, has been designed so that there is a balance between the desire and intention of law enforcement and the intelligence services of the United States to be able to hack devices and the public interest of warning to the companies of the vulnerabilities that are discovered in their systems that could be exploited by criminals.

The FBI reveals information … about old devices

The vulnerability that the FBI has revealed to Apple is unrelated to the famous iPhone 5c of the San Bernardino sniper. Law enforcement officials say they can't share that information because they don't have legal ownership of the method used to hack that iPhone. What they have revealed to Tim Cook and company is a vulnerability that affects old devices which in all likelihood will be used by a hundred percent testimonial.

The FBI says that share vulnerabilities when you can, which personally does not convince me (much less). It is likely that the intent of US law enforcement is to look good, since its image has been damaged by the different fronts that are open against privacy. On the other hand, I suppose they won't wait for Apple to relax and start collaborating with the FBI after revealing this information.

The FBI informed Apple about the existence of this vulnerability on April 14 and all they have said is that is already fixed in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. With this information we can only say that the affected devices they could be the iPhone 4, the original iPad, the Mac before 2007 and compatible devices that have not updated to an out-of-danger version. I say it could be because the fact that it is fixed in iOS 9 does not mean that it is not in iOS 8.4, for example. In the absence of Apple pronouncing, we can only recommend updating to the latest version whenever possible (and you are not waiting for a jailbreak).

The best accessories for your iPhone

Are you looking for a new case for your iPhone? An accessory for the Apple Watch? Maybe a Bluetooth speaker? Do not miss these offers on accessories and get the most out of Apple's mobile: