iPhone 17 gets hardware protection for crypto wallets
The new iPhone 17 features Memory Integrity Enforcement, a hardware tool that defends against memory exploits and makes draining crypto wallets far more difficult.
Apple has introduced the iPhone 17 with Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) – the first hardware-based memory protection system designed to prevent zero-day attacks and the theft of crypto assets.
MIE works alongside Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE), checking memory use in real-time. This approach closes vulnerabilities such as out-of-bounds writes (writing “extra” data into memory) and use-after-free (using memory that has already been freed), which have been heavily exploited to hack iOS. According to Apple Security Research, up to 70% of critical software bugs stem from memory corruption.
For cryptocurrency holders, the feature is especially significant. Hackers often exploit memory flaws to intercept transaction signatures and bypass Passkeys, enabling them to drain wallets without detection. With MIE, such attacks become much more expensive and difficult.
Cobo and F2Pool co-founder DiscusFish called the rollout of MIE “an important win for crypto investors with large holdings,” adding that it greatly increases trust in mobile devices for self-custody.
The launch of MIE comes amid a rise in real-world iOS attacks. Last year, attackers exploited bug chains in the ImageIO library to gain full device control just days after a vulnerability was disclosed. Apple claims the hardware protection in the iPhone 17 raises the cost of such attacks by orders of magnitude.
Experts caution, however, that MIE is not a “silver bullet.” Users still need to rely on hardware wallets and multisig, while developers must adapt apps to the new memory-handling rules.
Even so, Apple has taken an important step: for the first time, a smartphone now includes built-in, chip-level memory protection – potentially setting a new security standard not just for the mass market but also for the digital asset industry.
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