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Apple Disables the Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie App Due to Eavesdropping Vulnerability
TechCrunch reports that Apple has temporarily disabled the built-in Walkie-Talkie app on the Apple Watch because of an unspecified vulnerability that could “allow a person to listen to another customer’s iPhone without consent.” Although the app remains on your Apple Watch, it won’t be able to connect to other users. Presumably, Apple will release a software update to re-enable soon. Apple said that it’s not aware of the vulnerability being exploited in the wild.
Interestingly, Apple added that it was made aware of the vulnerability through the “Report a security or privacy vulnerability” page that it established after the Thompson family hit a bundle of red tape when it tried to tell Apple about the Group FaceTime eavesdropping bug (see “Apple Fixes Group FaceTime Bug; Promises to Improve Bug Reporting Process,” 1 February 2019). It appears Apple has made good on its promise to improve its bug reporting process.
I wouldn’t be convinced this proves that. Apple could have just as well asked the party reporting (through whatever channels, could have been a dev) to also submit through this new system, so they can use it for marketing purposes—just like they’re now doing. In order to actually gauge the efficiency of their new reporting system, we’d have to learn who reported the bug, under which circumstances, etc.