Apple has released an automatic update for its iPhone 6 and iPad devices to fix a major security flaw.
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Apple Inc. has issued an urgent update to its iOS mobile operating system following the revelation that three security flaws in the system could allow potential hackers to take control of an Apple device using a zero-day exploit.
Apple users are being advised to install the latest update. According to researchers at Citizen Lab, it was discovered when human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor received a text message on his phone promising “new secrets” about detainees tortured in United Arab Emirates jails if he clicked on links included in the message.
NSO Chief Executive Shalev Hulio referred questions to spokesman Zamir Dahbash, who said the company “cannot confirm the specific cases” covered in the Citizen Lab and Lookout reports.
According to the AFR, “Investigators discovered that a company called the NSO Group, an Israeli outfit that sells software that invisibly tracks a target’s mobile phone, was responsible for the intrusions”.
Citizen Lab has been able to link the attack to private Israeli spyware group NSO, although we still don’t know how they found out they could even do this. The researchers disclosed their findings on Thursday.
This led to The Citizens Lab partnering with security firm Lookout Secuirty to work on identifying the issue and how the code infects user devices.
The security investigators say that the Trident exploit and Pegasus spyware can be traced back to an organization called NSO Group Technologies Ltd, a company that describes itself as a “leader in mobile and cellular Cyber Warfare”.
Apple said in a statement that, “We were made aware of this vulnerability and immediately fixed it with iOS 9.3.5”.
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The spyware causes a silent infection when the iOS device user clicks on the link. It said it had no knowledge of any particular incidents and would not comment further. “The agreements signed with the company’s customers require that the company’s products only be used in a lawful manner”.
