As far as I’m aware it’s always been possible to bypass an iCloud activation lock (by directly interfacing with the flash storage) - however now the barrier for entry is so much lower with online services offering activation lock removal with a quick turnaround time.
Louis goes into much more detail in the video, however it’s likely an insider at Apple doing this.
My main takeaways are: It’s unlikely Apple is going to do anything about this, since these stolen & reset devices are bringing more users into the Apple ecosystem, as well as driving AppleCare sales (theft cover) and purchases of new devices. Also, since no user data is exposed, they aren’t necessarily at risk of bad press, since the privacy of the original owner is not compromised.
Do you think Apple will fix the process flaw allowing an insider to unlock these devices with no consequences?
Edit: Fix typos
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It’s unlikely Apple is going to do anything about this, since these stolen & reset devices are bringing more users into the Apple ecosystem
I worry you’ve overlooked Apple’s motivation in all things: people buying hardware.
That’s rule #1. Everything they do services that goal either immediately/directly or indirectly. It’s why you don’t pay for the OS; just the hardware. It’s why they pitched themselves as a beautiful device for the elite to carry and show off the newest versions of. It’s how they actually made serious money selling to end-users when every other company suffers the end-user to enable enterprise sales (like Apple was doing in 1985).
In this case, I can see them stepping in and hardening the security just enough to prevent external-to-apple unlocks (and maybe internal too, for plausible deniability). They make serious bank on the security illusion that RIM abandoned just when the latter had it all locked up and was looking great. And trivial hacks by external ‘third’ parties threaten this illusion and the hardware sales it drives.