CyberScoop reports that intensified spyware attacks against iPhones have prompted Apple to introduce the new Memory Integrity Enforcement security system in its new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air devices with the A19 and A19 Pro chipsets.Integrated within the MIE system aimed at combating memory corruption flaws is the Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension, co-developed with Arm, which provides unique secret tags for every block of memory scanned. Updating such tags upon memory reuse would allow effective blocking of unwanted access to targeted devices, according to Apple."...[W]e believe MIE will make exploit chains significantly more expensive and difficult to develop and maintain, disrupt many of the most effective exploitation techniques from the last 25 years, and completely redefine the landscape of memory safety for Apple products," said Apple.Such an effort was lauded by Access Now's Natalia Krapiva as a significant achievement against spyware developers. However, limiting MIE on Apple's latest devices hinders protections for groups commonly targeted by surveillanceware, Krapiva said.
