When it comes to locking down software and fending off third-party OS additions, Apple is leading the war against hackers. In the past, Apple has always released new firmwares to patch existing Jailbreaks and lately they’ve been making it harder for the expert security hackers to discover and implement exploits with new security precautions.
Apple is now reaching beyond the realm of protecting the integrity of their mobile operating system to defend their iPhone 4S-exclusive personal assistant: Siri. Until today, non-iPhone 4S users were able to use Siri by means of Spire (a Jailbreak tweak that requires access to a remote server loaded with iPhone 4S keys to trick Apple’s server and allow the unsupported device to use the personal assistant).
Apple has now added a “SetActivationToken” to their Siri servers as an extra security measure intend to keep older (unsupported) devices out. However, there’s a temporary solution for users that rely on Spire to use Siri – users simply need to delete the “com.apple.assistant.plist” file from their device. In order to delete the specific .plist, simply navigate to the “var/mobile/Library/Preferences/” directory by means of SSH or iFile and delete the ”com.apple.assistant.plist” file. Once the file has been deleted and the user reboots, Spire should work perfectly again and allow for full Siri access.
Even though there’s a workaround for Apple’s new Siri security precaution, they will most likely discover additional methods of keeping unwanted iDevices from accessing their personal assistant in the future. With that said, stay tuned for additional Siri and Spire-related coverage.
