Apple Releases Emergency Patch for Pegasus Spyware Vulnerability
The Pegasus spyware can read messages, track locations, and remotely operate phone cameras and microphones.
- Apple issued a critical software security update to fix a zero-day vulnerability for iPads and iPhones that allowed the installation of Pegasus spyware on the devices without input from the owners.
- The flaw has been exploited to install the Pegasus spyware developed by Israel-based cyber-intelligence firm, NSO Group.
Apple has released a major update to its iPad and iPhone devices to fix a newly discovered vulnerability in its operating system. The vulnerability was discovered by Citizen Lab researchers at the University of Toronto. The vulnerability was being actively exploited to inject commercial spyware by the NSO Group based in Israel.
Pegasus spyware is a highly sophisticated tool that has a history of being used by state actors to target strategic targets such as journalists, political opponents, and dissidents. The spyware can be uploaded to the device remotely, without any input from the user.
The software essentially gives malicious actors complete access to all data in the device, including being able to use the camera and microphone of the device. Consequently, it is recommended that all iPhone and iPad devices be updated as soon as possible to the iOS 16.6.1 version.
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The NSO Group has recently found itself deep in international scandals after being accused of selling its highly invasive spyware to countries with poor human rights records, including the UAE, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, and more.
The NSO group, however, has refuted such claims, saying that it only offers its products to entities that the Israeli government has approved and that it is only used to catch terrorists and criminals.
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