Apple's latest iOS 17 update has been found to interfere with NordVPN's anti-phishing protection, according to the company. The feature at the center of the issue, called Connectivity Assist, is enabled by default and is designed to help users maintain a stable internet connection by switching to mobile data when Wi-Fi is weak. NordVPN claims this feature undermines its real-time security tools, leaving users potentially vulnerable to phishing attacks. Connectivity Assist, part of Apple's Wi-Fi Assist feature, is meant to improve user experience by detecting connection problems and redirecting traffic to mobile data if needed. However, when NordVPN's anti-fraud tools block a phishing site, Apple's system may interpret this as a Wi-Fi issue and automatically switch to mobile data. This transition occurs outside the protection of the VPN, potentially exposing users to risk. To maintain full protection, users must manually disable Connectivity Assist. Alternatively, they can choose to enable NordVPN's real-time protection only when using a VPN, but this still leaves them unprotected when using mobile data. Laura Tyrylyte, NordVPN's Head of Public Relations, said users are being forced to choose between Apple's features and their own security tools, a situation that could have been avoided. NordVPN is not the only service affected by this change. Similar issues have been reported with other DNS-based filtering tools like Pi-hole and Firewalla, and Cloudflare's WARP also stopped blocking malicious sites after the update. While Apple engineers have suggested workarounds, these require users to manually adjust their DNS settings, which may be unfamiliar to many. NordVPN has previously faced similar issues with Apple's iOS updates, including a 2023 problem with the company's VPN API. In both cases, users had to choose between Apple's features and their own security tools, with Apple being the only party able to prevent the conflict. Tyrylyte emphasized that users end up bearing the cost when security tools stop working without clear warnings. While reporting the issue in the press is a step, she argues that preventing such problems from arising in the first place would be more effective. Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment.