Need some urgent security related advice for my iPhone and MacBook

Question

Level 1

4 points

Need some urgent security related advice for my iPhone and MacBook

My iPhone 13 and Macbook Air M1 were seized due to a legal matter for investigation. I will soon gain custody of my devices and I have a few questions related to this.

1) How can I rule out any malware/spyware/virus planted in my devices? Like should I get an antivirus to scan? If yes, kindly suggest.

2) How can I download my complete data from iCloud, and devices to a USB? And if I do this, is there a possibility for any malware/spyware/virus to be downloaded as well?

Thank you.

iPhone 13, iOS 16

Posted on Jul 6, 2025 10:55 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MrHoffman

Community+ 2025

Level 10

141,331 points

Jul 6, 2025 11:28 PM in response to sirakbot

1: Erase the gear. Reset. Don’t restore. Change all passwords. Anti-virus is useless here.

If you think your Apple Account has been compromised - Apple Support

2: Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Jul 7, 2025 06:45 AM in response to sirakbot

There is no certainty here. You can take steps to lower your risk, but a catastrophically breached configuration is breached, and malware can be added to (for instance) Office documents, PDF files, and (of course) applications, and accounts and trusted telephone numbers and other back doors can be added to existing configurations.

If you want to lower the risks of malware or implants further, get rid of all the gear, and get rid of the Apple Account and its iCloud data, source new gear directly from a random Apple Store or Apple Authorized Vendor, and start over.

Though if you’re worth enough for a well-funded adversary to target, even replacing it all won’t be enough to ensure no compromises.

There can be and is no certainty.

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Answer 3

sirakbot Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 7, 2025 12:03 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you, just a few doubts.

Will downloading or making copy of my iCloud data be safe? Like are there chances for malware to be on iCloud.

And if I am to reset my iPhone and MacBook, can I backup my data to iCloud, then again the question arises if I do a backup prior to a reset are there chances of malware being backed up as well.

Thank you.

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