Before this latest attempt, he had already been targeted using commercial spyware twice before.
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Experts at Citizen Lab worked with security company Lookout and determined that the link would have installed a program taking advantage of three flaws that Apple and others were not aware of.
Both reports pointed towards the NSO Group, an Israeli company with a reputation for flying under the radar, as the author of the spyware.
Mansoor received text messages on 10 and 11 August promising that secrets about detainees being tortured in UAE jails could be accessed by clicking on an enclosed link, researchers said.
This case also serves as an important reminder not to open text messages, emails, or open web links that you think look suspicious – whether on your smartphone or your computer.
Mike Murray, vice president of security research at Lookout said, “This is the most sophisticated bad actor we have ever seen targeting mobile phones out in the wild”. The new 9.3.5 update fixes three critical exploits, which, when used together, allow an iOS device to be exposed to hackers. According to them, an Israeli Surveillance Software company called the NSO Group had been exploiting a iOS security vulnerability to read the text messages and e-mails of journalists and government officials. This voice action of Mansoor saved millions of users around the globe from cyber harassment.
The NSO said in a statement that its products are only made available for lawful purposes – that is, to prevent and investigate crimes. It’s not because they are rare themselves, but the Android market is so big it’s an easier target for hackers.
Tech giant Apple has released an iOS update on Friday, containing the patch iOS 9.3.5., which protects the device from a malicious malware that may compromise privacy and security. The spyware, which is lawful, was identified by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, after Ahmed Mansoor, who in the past has been arrested, tortured and prevented from travelling overseas, sent the lab a suspicious link that has been texted to him.
Cyber-security researchers are calling this the most sophisticated mobile attack they’ve seen.
Apple released a fix for the problems on Thursday.
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Jailbreaking is the practice of manually removing some of the software restrictions Apple builds into the iPhone, enabling those who do it to install apps from any source rather than just the App Store.
