How to disable iOS 7 activation lock distantly

authintmail.- Apple added a layer of extra protection with iOS 7 through the activation lock feature making it difficult for thieves to steal an iPhone. However, it turns out that there is a bug that lets anyone bypass the security feature.

After iOS 7, if users want to turn off 'Find My iPhone' or reset the device, the phone asks for their Apple ID and password. Users also have to enter their Apple ID and password to reactivate the device after resetting it.

A new bug discovered by Miguel Alvarado can allow anyone to bypass this process. Alvarado has posted a video (spotted by 9to5Mac) detailing the bug.

According to the video, anyone who gets hold of someone's iPhone can go to its iCloud settings o tap on 'Delete account' and the toggle to disable Find My iPhone simultaneously. At the password prompt, all that the thief needs to do is turn off the phone.

When the phone is restarted, the thief can remove the iCloud account without the phone prompting for a password. Since the 'Find my iPhone' feature has already been deactivated, the activation lock won't work and the thief can reset the phone through iTunes and reactivate it.

We were not able to replicate the bug on our iPhone 5 running iOS 7.1.

Apple has not acknowledged the bug at the time of publishing this report. We expect the Cupertino giant to release an update soon, patching the vulnerability. It is best to use a passcode to protect your phone.

Source : authintmail.