NEWS

Security Glitch in Apple's iOS 5 Cracks Password-Protected iPad 2

By Sara Yin

Reports of security flaws in Apple's new iOS 5 continue to surface.

There's a super easy way to bypass a password-protected locksreen on an iPad 2 that's equipped with iOS 5, which we've successfully completed with steps provided by German blog Apfeltalk.

Here's how to re-create the flaw. First, enable password protection on the iPad 2 and lock it. Second, hold down the power button for a couple seconds until you see the red "slide to power off" slider at the top of the screen. Third, close the smart cover and open the smart cover again. And fourth, tap "cancel" at the bottom of the screen. What you should see next is the last screen accessed before you locked your tablet.

Don't have a smart cover? You can skip step three by simply grazing a magnet across the right side of the tablet.

Note that this doesn't completely unlock the device. It only opens the screen you were last looking at, but nothing more; you can't open apps or perform tasks. But it's a big deal if you were, say, doing some incriminating Web surfing and left your iPad 2 lying around a house with a curious (and tech-savvy) partner.

We tried it on both iOS 5 and iOS 4.3.3, and it only worked on iOS 5, so it appears to be a software flaw. No doubt Apple is aware of the issue and will hopefully fix it in an imminent update.

Two days ago, Sophos discovered that Siri can be activated even on an iPhone 4S with lockscreen.

For more, see How to Get Apple's iOS 5 as well as PCMag's full review of iOS 5 and our Hands On With Apple iCloud. Also check out PCMag's full review of the iPhone 4S.