Apple iOS 9 passcode flaw grants unrestricted access to photos and contacts

By Lorraine Caballero, Christian Post Contributor Friday, September 25, 2015

Apple iOS 9 reportedly has a passcode flaw that allows unrestricted access to a device's photos and contacts.

This week, a video surfaced about a flaw in the security system of the iOS 9 mobile operating system that can bypass the passcode on a lock screen. The passcode flaw, which was uncovered by Googler Jose Rodriguez, could compromise the stored photos and contacts in an Apple device, according to Apple Insider.

The discovery of the iOS 9 security flaw comes just days after Apple released its latest mobile operating system. While the iOS 9 adoption rate went past 50 percent in just one week, there have been complaints about Apple devices hanging, while the OS was being installed, the International Business Times reports.

This is not the first time that iOS has been affected by a lock screen bypass bug. Similar incidents occurred with the iOS 4, iOS 6, and iOS 7. Rodriguez was the one who also discovered the passcode flaw in iOS 6.1.3 two years ago, the report adds.

In Rodriguez's video, an alleged bug affects the Siri lock screen and the iOS 9's five-attempt lockout feature. There are certain circumstances in which Siri will allow limited access to an iPhone or iPad from the lock screen.

Based on the demo video posted by Rodriguez, the devices vulnerable to the flaw are those protected by the four- or six-digit passcodes. On the other hand, those protected by longer alphanumeric codes are not affected by the security flaw, the report explains.

While there are still no patches released for the bug, users of affected devices can disable Siri lock screen by tweaking the Passcode settings. They need to enter the present password and go to the "Allow access when locked" option and deactivate Siri. They can also protect their device by entering a longer alphanumeric password.

As of now, Apple has not released any fix for the newly discovered iOS 9 passcode flaw. The next software patch called the iOS 9.1 will be released two months from now.