apple security update closes spyware iphones

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Security researcher Will Strafach said he had seen no technical analysis of the vulnerabilities that Apple has just patched. Its spyware is known to have been used in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America against journalists, dissidents and human rights activists. NSO Group has been blacklisted by the U.S. In all cases, it cited an anonymous researcher.Ĭommercial spyware companies such as Israel’s NSO Group are known for identifying and taking advantage of such flaws, exploiting them in malware that surreptitiously infects targets’ smartphones, siphons their contents and surveils the targets in real time. The flaw also affects some iPod models.Īpple did not say in the reports how, where or by whom the vulnerabilities were discovered.

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Security experts have advised users to update affected devices - the iPhone 6S and later models several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2 and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey.

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That would allow intruders to impersonate the device’s owner and subsequently run any software in their name, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Apple’s explanation of the vulnerability means a hacker could get “full admin access” to the device.

#Apple security update closes spyware iphones Patch#

Users should get alerts on their iPhones prompting them to update the phone’s iOS software and can go into the phone settings, click “General” then “Software Update,” and trigger the patch update directly. Specifically, malicious image files were transmitted to the activist’s phone via the iMessage instant-messaging app before it was hacked with NSO’s Pegasus spyware, which opens a phone to eavesdropping and remote data theft, Marczak said. “We’re not necessarily attributing this attack to the Saudi government,” Bill Marczak, a senior research fellow at Citizen Lab who partnered with Scott-Railton on the finding, told the AP. 7 and alerted Apple, but the targeted Saudi activist asked to remain anonymous.

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Likewise, Apple’s security chief, Ivan Krstić, reiterated that such exploits “are not a threat to the overwhelming majority of our users.”Ĭitizen Lab researchers first detected the malicious code on Sept. The vulnerability reportedly affected all major Apple devices, including iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches, but security experts told the AP that average Apple users should remain calm because such attacks typically target specific marks. “This spyware can do everything an iPhone user can do on their device and more,” John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, told the newspaper.Īccording to the Times, the novel “zero click remote exploit” is considered the “Holy Grail of surveillance” because it allows governments, mercenaries and criminals to covertly hack a victim’s device.

Meanwhile, an Apple spokesman confirmed Citizen Lab’s assessment to the Times and said that the company planned to add spyware barriers to its next iOS 15 software update, expected before the end of 2021.ĭubbed “Pegasus,” the spyware was used to invisibly infect an Apple device without the victim’s knowledge for as long as six months, the Times reported.

#Apple security update closes spyware iphones pdf#

In a blog post citing Citizen Lab, Apple stated that it is aware of the high-profile incident and was immediately issuing a security update for iPhones and iPads because a “maliciously crafted” PDF file could lead to them being hacked. NSO Group responded with a one-sentence statement saying it will continue providing tools for fighting “terror and crime.” If you use Apple devices for work or personal use, please update your software to iOS 14.8, MacOS 11.6 (for Big Sur), Security Update 2021-005 (for MacOS 10.15 Catalina), and WatchOS 7.6.2 as soon. Apple on Monday issued emergency software updates to address a security vulnerability after researchers detected a flaw that could allow hackers to directly access and manipulate iPhones and other Apple devices without any user interaction.Īpple’s security team has been working nonstop to develop a fix since Tuesday, after researchers at Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity watchdog organization at the University of Toronto, discovered that a Saudi activist’s iPhone had been infected with spyware, The New York Times reported.Ĭitizen Lab researchers told The Associated Press that they had the highest confidence that the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, Israel’s NSO Group, was behind that attack.