Serious Problem: Is iOS 12.5 Safe?

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Hey guys,

I've been researching this and I've found information that says iOS 12.5 is safe to update to and some sources that say it isn't...

The reason I'm making a thread about this update is because it's so unusual as it mentions a "COVID19 tracker". What does this mean? Could this give away my personal location?

Thank you for any help!

 

[casperes1996]

The COVID tracker is anonymised. It gives a randomly generated number to Bluetooth devices following the same protocol in your near vicinity. Under the protocol there is also no memory of where these randomly generated numbers were seen, only whether or not they were seen. These numbers cannot be tracked back to you directly. If you report that you have COVID, your phone knows which numbers it generated over the past x-time and will send those numbers to the relevant authority (with a tracker app from your government) so everyone whose device has seen said random numbers can notify them that they should get tested.

It will not give away your location or any identifiable information. If you don't install a COVID tracking app it will not do anything. But I recommend getting your local authorities' official app, so that the tracking API can be active and you can be informed if you have been in the proximity of any random numbers associated with someone who has tested positive, and likewise give the same courtesy to others.

 

[mjk5025]

The contact tracing is done via bluetooth (basically, your phone logs all of the other bluetooth identifiers it comes across and will send you a notification if another user declares a positive test) not GPS, and is off by default.

Apple's Exposure Notification System Guide

Apple in May 2020 introduced an Exposure Notification System, which was designed to let public health authorities and governments worldwide help...

www.macrumors.com

Long story short, there is nothing to worry about.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Thank you for your replies Casperes1996 and Mjk5025!

Am I correct in saying that if I don't update to iOS 12.5 my iPad is at MORE of a security risk than if I just kept running iOS 12.4.9???

 

[casperes1996]

Am I correct in saying that if I don't update to iOS 12.5 my iPad is at MORE of a security risk than if I just kept running iOS 12.4.9???

Without knowing the full scope of changes in 12.5 it's hard to make that kind of statement fully; But I can tell you this much. If I were running a security department of a company I would enforce updating.

In security it's hard to make blanket statements in general because there are a lot of variables and unknowns at play. In theory Apple could've introduced yet unknown bugs in 12.5, but to the best of our current knowledge it is safe to update and recommended.

Preferably when talking about security though, we would like to have a threat model to consider, but that's a question of theoretical security and beyond the scope of this thread; All in all, updating is the recommended security procedure.

 

[Secondempire]

Thank you for your replies Casperes1996 and Mjk5025!

Am I correct in saying that if I don't update to iOS 12.5 my iPad is at MORE of a security risk than if I just kept running iOS 12.4.9???

Yes, updating to iOS 12.5 improves your security since the update contains a security patch:

About the security content of iOS 12.5 - Apple Support

This document describes the security content of iOS 12.5.

support.apple.com

You can probably expect future minor 12.5.1 and 12.5.2 updates until iOS 15 is released later this year.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Yes, updating to iOS 12.5 improves your security since the update contains a security patch:

About the security content of iOS 12.5 - Apple Support

This document describes the security content of iOS 12.5.

support.apple.com

You can probably expect future minor 12.5.1 and 12.5.2 updates until iOS 15 is released later this year.

Without knowing the full scope of changes in 12.5 it's hard to make that kind of statement fully; But I can tell you this much. If I were running a security department of a company I would enforce updating.

In security it's hard to make blanket statements in general because there are a lot of variables and unknowns at play. In theory Apple could've introduced yet unknown bugs in 12.5, but to the best of our current knowledge it is safe to update and recommended.

Preferably when talking about security though, we would like to have a threat model to consider, but that's a question of theoretical security and beyond the scope of this thread; All in all, updating is the recommended security procedure.

Thank you for your replies Secondempire and Casperes1996!

I'm still on 12.4.9 and one thing I've noticed is that NONE of my installed Apps on my iPad Mini have received any updates for at least a couple weeks which is very strange... Does anyone know why?

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you for your replies Secondempire and Casperes1996!

I'm still on 12.4.9 and one thing I've noticed is that NONE of my installed Apps on my iPad Mini have received any updates for at least a couple weeks which is very strange... Does anyone know why?

It's been Christmas and New Year's and Apple is requiring new submissions to include the so-called "Privacy nutrition labels". People have been on breaks, and they need to figure out what data they're actually collecting before they can submit anything to the App Store

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

It's been Christmas and New Year's and Apple is requiring new submissions to include the so-called "Privacy nutrition labels". People have been on breaks, and they need to figure out what data they're actually collecting before they can submit anything to the App Store

Thank you for your reply Casperes1996!

I've installed iOS 12.5 on my iPad, but I can't find where to turn off the "COVID Notification"?

 

[casperes1996]

I've installed iOS 12.5 on my iPad, but I can't find where to turn off the "COVID Notification"?

You do not turn it off. It's off unless you download your local authorities' tracing app and allowing it to use the system

 

[iAssimilated]

Isn't the Exposure Notifications an iPhone only feature?

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Isn't the Exposure Notifications an iPhone only feature?

Yes.

 

[casperes1996]

Isn't the Exposure Notifications an iPhone only feature?

Ha; At no point did I even think about the OP mentioning this was on an iPad not an iPhone; Nice catch

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Ha; At no point did I even think about the OP mentioning this was on an iPad not an iPhone; Nice catch

Isn't the Exposure Notifications an iPhone only feature?

Yes.

Thank you for all your replies!

I just received another update request from my iPad Mini 3 and it's requesting I update to 12.5.1.

Does anyone know if this is a safe update?

One other strange thing is that only one App has requested an update from the iOS App Store since I think around mid/early December 2020...?

 

[casperes1996]

I just received another update request from my iPad Mini 3 and it's requesting I update to 12.5.1.

It's just bug fixes. As a rule of thumb you can just expect your updates to be safe, especially 12.x.x updates. Updates that jump the major version like 12->13 may cause performance drops or early bugs, but on a security note it's generally more secure to stay updated than not

 

[C DM]

Thank you for all your replies!

I just received another update request from my iPad Mini 3 and it's requesting I update to 12.5.1.

Does anyone know if this is a safe update?

One other strange thing is that only one App has requested an update from the iOS App Store since I think around mid/early December 2020...?

You can read about the update in various articles about it, like the one here:

Apple Releases iOS 12.5.1 With Exposure Notifications Bug Fix for Older iPhones

Apple today released iOS 12.5.1, an update that is available for older iPhones unable to install the iOS 14 update. The update features an Exposure...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Yes, confirming it is safe.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Thank you all for your replies!

I've fully updated my iPad.