Title

Apple iOS/iPadOS 16 must implement the management setting: Not share location data through iCloud. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Sharing of location data is an operational security (OPSEC) risk because it potentially allows an adversary to determine a DoD user's location, movements, and patterns in those movements over time. An adversary could use this information to target the user or gather intelligence on the user's likely activities. Using commercial cloud services to store and handle location data could leave the data vulnerable to breach, particularly by sophisticated adversaries. Disabling the use of such services mitigates this risk. SFR ID: FMT_SMF_EXT.1.1 #47

Check Content

Review configuration settings to confirm "Share My Location" is disabled. Note that this is a User-Based Enforcement (UBE) control, which cannot be managed by an MDM server. This check procedure is performed on the iPhone and iPad only. On the iPhone and iPad: 1. Open the Settings app. 2. Tap "Privacy & Security". 3. Tap "Location Services". 4. If the authorizing official (AO) has not approved use of personal iCloud accounts on the device, verify "Share My Location" is grayed out (cannot be selected). 5. If the AO has approved the use of personal iCloud accounts on the device, tap "Share My Location". 6. Verify "Share My Location" is off. If "Share My Location" is not grayed out (cannot be selected) when the AO has not approved use of personal iCloud accounts on the device, this is a finding. If "Share My Location" is toggled to the right and appears green on the iPhone and iPad when the AO has approved the use of personal iCloud accounts, this is a finding.

Fix Text

The user must configure Apple iOS/iPadOS to disable location sharing through iCloud.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-254619r862205_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-254619

Group Title: PP-MDF-990000

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.