full-disclosure - Physical access exploit: Apple iTunes Visualiser disables screen lock

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Message-ID: <622BB5DE-DBDF-11D8-BAF7-0003939D6C78@westnet.com.au>
From: aqsalter at westnet.com.au (Adam Q)
Subject: Physical access exploit: Apple iTunes Visualiser disables screen lock

The full-screen Apple iTunes Visualiser currently disables the screen 
lock timer on both Mac & PC.

Synopsis:
This a physical access security concern at present since anybody who 
uses the iTunes Visualiser in full-screen mode is essentially leaving 
their PC unlocked for that duration. Since many people leave the 
Visualiser on in office or POS situations this leads to a computer that 
can easily be accessed as the local user.

Suggested workaround:
Never leave a computer running iTunes Visualiser in full-screen mode 
unattended. Never deploy a computer with iTunes installed in a POS 
situation, and carefully consider the ramifications on the IT Security 
Policy in an office environment.

Recommended action:
Have the default be to lock the screen after the required time elapsed 
(exactly as if the screensaver became enabled) and have a preference to 
disable screen locking if the user wishes. Most users (and IT 
departments) would assume if they had screen locking enabled for their 
screensaver that they would be safe.

iTunes is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Corp.
---
Adam Q Salter
aqsalter@...tnet.com.au