The iPhone 17 series has become the divine device for encryption transactions! Shen Yu: MIE hardware eliminates contract signing and is immune to 0day attacks.

Apple has launched Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE), which blocks mercenary spyware such as Pegasus through hardware and software collaboration, increasing the cost of attacks and reshaping the security landscape of mobile devices. Shen Yu stated it is a boon for high-frequency smart contract signers and high-net-worth individuals. (Previous context: Has the EasyCard been hacked by a genius high school student? Cybersecurity experts: The MIFARE Classic vulnerability was publicly disclosed 15 years ago!) (Background supplement: Cold Wallet users be aware! The ESP32 chip has been revealed to have a vulnerability that 'can steal Bitcoin Private Keys.' How to check if your device is at risk?) Shen Yu revealed that the iPhone 17, due to the upgrade to MIE, may make this new iPhone a crypto powerhouse, capable of avoiding a large number of 0day attacks due to memory leak vulnerabilities. According to Apple's official website, Apple has introduced the "Memory Integrity Enforcement" (Memory Integrity Enforcement, MIE), which has been in development for five years. This security mechanism, unveiled alongside the iPhone 17 and A19 chip, is described by officials as: the most significant memory security upgrade in the history of consumer operating systems. In the face of the evolving mercenary spyware such as Pegasus, MIE attempts to block typical vulnerabilities such as buffer overflow and use-after-free through deep integration of hardware and software, redefining the security benchmark for mobile devices. The intent and birth of MIE: three major technologies. In the past, the iPhone has already been equipped with the indicator verification code (PAC), the secure language Swift, and core-level kalloc_type allocators. However, relying purely on software ultimately cannot intercept all attacks in real-time. Therefore, Apple teamed up with Arm to enhance the original Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) to Enhanced MTE (EMTE), and in iOS 17, the concept was extended to user-level xzone malloc. Thus, MIE took shape, emphasizing "synchronization, preset activation, and continuous operation," aiming to sink defenses to the silicon level. The first type is type-aware memory allocation; kalloc_type and xzone malloc will split different structures into independent segments, reducing the chance of data being overwritten; the second type is the EMTE synchronization mode. The hardware attaches secret tags to each block of memory, and the CPU compares the tags during read and write operations. If they do not match, the program is immediately terminated, forming an instantaneous block against attacks such as buffer overflow and use-after-free; the third type is mandatory enforcement of tag confidentiality, using cache isolation and speculative execution protection to avoid side-channel probing of tag values, with almost no performance loss. Practical testing and industry impact: Apple's internal "offensive research team" has conducted five years of stress testing on MIE since 2020. The official white paper indicates that many multi-stage attack chains are cut off at the first step of hardware tag comparison, preventing attackers from establishing persistent footholds. For the mercenary spyware industry, this signifies an exponential increase in development costs and risks, instantly eliminating the exploit manuals accumulated over the past twenty-five years. Compared to the optional MTE in the Android camp, MIE is directly preset to lock down and covers over 70 system processes and all third-party apps. Apple does not shy away from stating that the primary defense targets are a few high-value individuals who are susceptible to nation-state attacks, but when the difficulty of invasion is generally increased at the hardware level, the entire user group benefits simultaneously. The industry chain is also forced to follow suit, incorporating "hardware enforced defense" into the design starting point, rather than relying solely on backend patches. Overview of the three pillars of MIE shows that Apple has pushed memory security from "post-patch" to "real-time hardware adjudication." After the iPhone 17, this line of defense will maintain a permanent presence throughout the product lifecycle, providing users with enhanced privacy protection that is harder to shake. As the cost of malware attacks skyrockets, the safety margin of digital life also widens, with MIE marking a watershed moment in the evolution of mobile device security. Who benefits from these technologies? After discussing so much about the technological season, who exactly benefits from MIE technology? Which users should prioritize switching to the iPhone 17 series? According to Shen Yu, high-net-worth users and frequent transaction and smart contract signers should prioritize purchasing, as once the code is placed into the MIE system, old attack methods such as memory leak exploitation will become completely ineffective, making mobile operations involving smart contracts much safer. Developers, asset custodians, and those who frequently use mobile to trade meme coins or DEX can also consider switching first, as asset security is far more important than phone specifications or cost-performance ratio. Related reports: Bybit fires back: The reason for the hack is due to a vulnerability in the Safe wallet, Safe admits that the developer's device was compromised and will compensate for losses? AMD chips have a serious security vulnerability, with almost all microprocessors after 2006 being affected. GMX announces a $42 million hack report: "Reentrancy vulnerability" exploited by hackers, how will users be compensated? <iPhone 17 series becomes a crypto trading powerhouse! Shen Yu: MIE hardware eliminates contract signing from 0day attacks> This article was first published in BlockTempo, the most influential blockchain news media.