There have been several posts lately about iOS 17 update leaving your phone vulnerable to hack attack simply by a bad actor being in close vicinity of my phone. The posts recommend turning off AirDrop in settings to protect one’s self. Any reason to be worried if AirDrop is left enabled?
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.1
The fake news story was, as my associate said, in reference to NameDrop. And it wasn’t about hacking, it was observing that when 2 phones are close together (within 1 inch) it is possible to transfer a contact from one phone to another. What the false reports neglected to mention is that the owners of both phones must approve the transfer (in addition to their top ends being within one inch of each other). The rumor was spread by a Connecticut police department that didn’t do any research (like calling Apple and asking), and was picked up by other police agencies who figured that since it came from a police department it must be true.
As far as Air Drop is concerned, go to Settings/General/Airdrop and note that the only options are OFF, Contacts Only, or Everyone for 10 minutes. If you set it to contacts only AirDrop will be safe also. And, like NameDrop, AirDrop requires approval by both parties.
The fake news story was, as my associate said, in reference to NameDrop. And it wasn’t about hacking, it was observing that when 2 phones are close together (within 1 inch) it is possible to transfer a contact from one phone to another. What the false reports neglected to mention is that the owners of both phones must approve the transfer (in addition to their top ends being within one inch of each other). The rumor was spread by a Connecticut police department that didn’t do any research (like calling Apple and asking), and was picked up by other police agencies who figured that since it came from a police department it must be true.
As far as Air Drop is concerned, go to Settings/General/Airdrop and note that the only options are OFF, Contacts Only, or Everyone for 10 minutes. If you set it to contacts only AirDrop will be safe also. And, like NameDrop, AirDrop requires approval by both parties.
The ridiculous news story was not referring to AirDrop. Instead it was referring to the Name Drop function, which like AirDrop, is not vulnerable to hacking.
Thanks Lawrence. Appreciate your good advice.
KIP
iOS17 vulnerable to Air Drop hack?
