Apple perfects vendor lock-in with home security kit
- Reference: 1666621810
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/10/24/apple_level_lock/
- Source link:
In partnership with [1]Level , a company that seems to have made the ancient mechanism of locks "cool," Apple is [2]flogging the devices for $329.95 .
Powered by the same NFC (near-field communication) technology behind the iPhone's Pay and Wallet functions, users are able to gain access and lock their door with a simple tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch, just as how you'd pay for goods in a store.
[3]
Apple's Level Lock+
Level Lock+ is another step in Apple's quest to "digitize all the things" – including bank cards and travel tickets. The ability to digitize a home key was first announced in 2021, and now here we are. Home keys can be added to the Apple Wallet [4]through the Home app , the hub where Apple's "smart home" kit can be administered.
The Apple Pay system works incredibly well, as do its Android equivalents, and it's liberating to be able to leave home without a crumbling and overstuffed wallet (until somewhere needs cash or doesn't support the spec). Since physical bank cards also use NFC, if your wallet was pinched, the thief could go on a shopping spree until you cancel your cards. If your iPhone were stolen, Apple's Face ID would render it an expensive brick to unauthorized users.
[5]Apple remembers it makes iPads, updates fondleslabs
[6]Oz Apple Store staff vote to strike for better pay, settled rosters, clean shirts
[7]Lufthansa bans Apple AirTags on checked bags
[8]PC shipments are still on the decline – unless you're Apple
Leaving your keys at home, [9]including car keys , would be even better, yet it's clearly another attempt by the world's most valuable tech company to make the iPhone ever more important to its owner by taking some responsibility for the security of their home.
It's not 100 percent lock-in (if you'll excuse the pun) since the Level Lock+ clearly shows a low-tech key slot – but if you were to lose your phone and didn't have that physical key on you or hidden somewhere else, you'd be a bit screwed.
[10]
Handing the security of one's home and belongings almost entirely to Apple should be approached with caution, although many enthusiasts will likely be champing at the bit to have the Level Lock+ installed.
[11]
Apple Pay, for example, is [12]not without flaws . Last year, researchers at the Universities of Surrey and Birmingham found that Visa cards linked to the service could be exploited to steal money using off-the-shelf equipment.
They did this by imitating the signal from a transport terminal, which exploited Apple Pay's Express Travel function – causing the phone to make payments without authentication. The researchers were technically able to drain bank accounts under the right conditions. Protections like Face ID [13]aren't immune to spoofing either.
[14]
Could miscreants exploit Level Lock+ by perhaps copying a house key signal? Our bet is that people are working on it right now. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://level.co/stories/homekeys
[2] https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HQ3L2ZM/A/level-lock-with-home-key-support-satin-nickel
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/10/24/levellockcopy.jpg
[4] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph0dc255875/ios
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/18/apple_new_ipad_pro/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/11/apple_australia_store_strike/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/10/lufthansa_airtag_ban/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/10/pc_shipments_decline/
[9] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211234
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y1a2mD@90f5DlhqMRduDXQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y1a2mD@90f5DlhqMRduDXQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/09/30/apple-pay-flaw-risks-letting-hackers-drain-money-iphones/?wgu=272965_16644_16431051816537_8d8392245f&wgexpiry=1650881181&WT.mc_id=tmgoff_paff-4551_subsoffers_basic_planit&utm_source=tmgoff&utm_medium=tmgoff_paff-4551&utm_content=subsoffers_basic&utm_campaign=tmgoff_paff-4551_subsoffers_basic_planit
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2017/11/14/is_facial_recognition_good_enough/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y1a2mD@90f5DlhqMRduDXQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
So getting your phone out of a pocket or handbag, logging in with face ID or fingerprint or whatever then waving the phone over the lock (hope it's not raining) is easier than taking a key out of your pocket and manfully thrusting it into the lock?
Not 100% convinced, actually not even 0.01% convinced.
Anyone going to take bets on how good a physical lock is provided - Score in how many seconds the LPL would take to open it.
I don't understand the fad with relying on an expensive piece of electronics such as a phone rather than a cheap bit of plastic with a chip. RFC isn't the problem, it's banks accepting higher risk of abuse to generate higher turnover. Customers can always disable payments that do not require some kind of 2FA, such as a PIN or a signature.
Lock picking lawyer
We need him to prove the lock is reasonable, but I prefer to have a physical key rather than rely on a phone for everything. Besides it is nice to go for a walk and leave the phone behind so nothing interrupts you.
Yes I know to some people that is dangerous thinking but it is true, I go to pick up my daily paper and leave the phone at home.
Re: Lock picking lawyer
I wonder what it will take to open it?
The magnet
The piss hammer
The bit of red bull can
The wave rake
The custom tool that Bosnian Bill and I[he] made?
Re: Lock picking lawyer
It looks like a bog standard 5, 6 or 7 pin tumbler lock - For a (very) skilled user of a pick-gun it's possible to open that style of lock without breaking step.
Re: Lock picking lawyer
That reminds me: Must get my lock collection out and refresh my lock picking skills.
but if you were to lose your phone and didn't have that physical key on you [...] you'd be a bit screwed
You're complaining that a door lock won't function without either a (working) phone or a key? How is this different to all the "traditional" door locks out there which don't function if you've lost/left your keys somewhere? I'm all for a bit of Apple bashing when they go too far up their own arses, but in this case El Reg, WTF?!?
Dumb design
If you are going to design a way of opening doors electronically forcing your customers to use a specific lock is super dumb, what if they have mastered locks? This will screw that up a treat, what if a vulnerability is found with the mechanical parts of the lock? - Will they at their own cost replace all the locks? (of course not).
For decades electronically released locks have used a release in the door jamb which will work with any lock - Shirley that would be more secure, cheaper & more versatile than this design.
How is this 'iThing' different from other 'smart' door locks?
Come on El Reg... don't we deserve to know how unique this thing is when compared to those flogged by Amazon and a few dozen other vendors?
We know that you have huge downer on Apple but honestly... why shouldn't I spend $329 on this POS when brand X's POS is $129.99. etrc etc.