We kick things off with a closer look at the WSJ’s article regarding a growing problem with iPhone security and passcodes. The discussion goes over Neil’s thoughts on how the WSJ covered the story and the publication’s recommendations to readers for safeguarding themselves. We also look at some major holes in the WSJ’s coverage and argument, including the absence of Apple Watch from the discussion.

Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week. We have mostly wrapped up our earnings reviews. There are a few companies that remain on my watch list – such as Sonos and Warner Bros. Discovery. For today’s update, we will focus on a WSJ story published late last week.

The WSJ on iPhone’s Security “Vulnerability”

Over at the WSJ, here are Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen:

“In the early hours of Thanksgiving weekend, Reyhan Ayas was leaving a bar in Midtown Manhattan when a man she had just met snatched her iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Within a few minutes, the 31-year-old, a senior economist at a workforce intelligence startup, could no longer get into her Apple account and all the stuff attached to it, including photos, contacts and notes. Over the next 24 hours, she said, about $10,000 vanished from her bank account.

Similar stories are piling up in police stations around the country. Using a remarkably low-tech trick, thieves watch iPhone owners tap their passcodes, then steal their targets’ phones—and their digital lives.

The thieves are exploiting a simple vulnerability in the software design of over one billion iPhones active globally. It centers on the passcode, the short string of numbers that grants access to a device; and passwords, generally longer alphanumeric combinations that serve as the logins for different accounts.”

This story spread like wildfire on social media. The WSJ put it on the front page of the weekend edition.

According to the WSJ, Apple has not done enough to protect iPhone users from passcode theft.

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