A few days ago, Apple developers were forced to suspend the Walkie-Talkie function in their own smart watches due to a vulnerability that allowed users to eavesdrop without their knowledge. With the release of watchOS 5.3 and iOS 12.4, the feature that allows watch wearers to communicate like a walkie-talkie has been restored.
The description of watchOS 5.3 says that the developers have integrated "important security updates, including a fix for the Walkie-Talkie app." This fix is also mentioned in the iOS 12.4 release notes. The description says that the platform update not only fixes the previously discovered vulnerability, but also returns the functionality of the Walkie-Talkie function.
Earlier this month, Apple representatives about temporarily disabling the Walkie-Talkie feature on your Apple Watch. It was noted that the development team is not aware of cases where anyone has exploited the vulnerability in practice. Details about the mentioned vulnerability were not disclosed. Apple only reported that certain conditions are required to detect the vulnerability.
Recall that the Walkie-Talkie function was integrated into the original version of the watchOS 5 platform last year. This feature allows smartwatch wearers to communicate with each other using the push-to-talk function, just like a classic walkie-talkie.
WatchOS 5.3 and iOS 12.4 updates are available to Apple device owners today. After installing the appropriate update, the Walkie-Talkie application and service will become fully functional again.
Source: 3dnews.ru