Michael Black wrote:
Part of the whole point of encrypted backups is precisely to DIS-allow what you wish to do. If anybody could just wipe out the backup, remove the hidden setting in the device to require the password, then anyone could simply bypass the entire security model and make a fresh backup.
...
Your iPad itself has a secure hidden setting that now REQUIRES the encryption password to backup or restore. The only way to remove that requirement is to restore the device as new, wiping all content in the process. Again, that s the entire point of encrypted backups. Without the password, neither the data in the backup file, nor on the device itself is accessible to anyone.
I’m not going to dispute your answer, but the very idea is silly.
In order to wipe out the backup, someone must
- Have access to the computer with the backup
- Have the passcode (or word) necessary to unlock the iPad
So no, “anyone” cannot “simply bypass the entire security model.”
Plus -- even with this “security” -- anyone with access to the iPad’s password (again, required to get into the iPad, i.e., to make a backup) will have access to the contents without bothering to (or needing to) back it up. QED. Regardless of that, the iPad itself (wiped) is in most cases worth more than the contents, so thieves simply wipe the iPad.
Nowhere does Apple state that the iPad has a hidden setting which is linked to the encrypted backup password -- they have a Support doc which says that you’ll lose the backup, but you only find that once you’ve lost the password and gone looking for a way to deal with the problem.
Additionally: if iTunes can recognize any iPad and lock the backup, why not lock the iPad altogether -- even after wiping it? That would put an end to people stealing iPads, because they’d be bricked. Want to get into it? Use a recognized computer with your Apple ID and password. As it is, this just frustrates legitimate users, as can be seen by the number of posts here and elsewhere across the net.
Thanks anyhow. I’ll probably use one of the applications which can crack your backup, bypassing the entire security model.