An Israeli security firm allegedly targeted Ahmed Mansoor, an activist in the United Arab Emirates To spy on a human rights activist, hackers allegedly connected to a Middle Eastern government used three previously unknown vulnerabilities in Apple’s iOS. The claims — from research at Toronto-based Citizen Lab and mobile security firm Lookout — focus on spyware that targeted Ahmed Mansoor, an activist in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this month, Mansoor received an SMS text message on his iPhone claiming to offer “new secrets” about tortured detainees in his country. However, inside the message was a link that, once clicked, can infect an iPhone with spyware, using three zero-day exploits of iOS, the research found. The exploits work by remotely jailbreaking the device to secretly download the spyware – which can then access the iPhone’s camera, microphone, and messages. Lookout called the attack the most sophisticated it’s ever seen on a device. The researchers have already informed Apple about the exploits, and iOS version 9.3.5 — which was released on Thursday — fixes the issues. The attack is rare because it used three previously unknown vulnerabilities, suggesting the hackers were well-funded. Just one of these exploits can be worth US$1 million. Citizen Lab, however, is pointing fingers at an Israeli security firm called NSO Group, which reportedly specializes in monitoring smartphones of government targets. NSO Group doesn’t maintain a website, and an email to the company went unanswered. But Citizen Lab said leaked documents appear to show the Israeli company selling a spyware product called Pegasus, which matches with the three zero-day exploits found. Citizen Lab also analyzed the domain name in the link Mansoor received via SMS text message. Following a long internet trail, it found an NSO Group registered email as part of evidence tying the Israeli company to the attack. The UAE likely hired NSO Group to spy on Mansoor, Citizen Lab added. Mansoor has previously been the target of commercial spyware back in 2011 and 2012. “While these spyware tools are developed in democracies, they continue to be sold to countries with notorious records of abusive targeting of human rights defenders,” said Citizen Lab, which is based out of the University of Toronto. The UAE’s embassy didn’t immediately respond for comment. Related content news Palo Alto extends SASE security, performance features Palo Alto rolls out Prisma SASE 3.0 to secure unmanaged devices, increase AI capabilities. By Michael Cooney May 02, 2024 3 mins SASE Network Security Networking how-to The logic of && and || on Linux These AND and OR equivalents can be used in scripts to determine next actions. By Sandra Henry-Stocker May 02, 2024 4 mins Linux analysis Cisco-backed startup Corelight raises $150M to expand network security services Corelight aims to boost AI-driven security operations, cloud visibility and detection, and next-generation SIEM platforms. By Michael Cooney May 02, 2024 4 mins Network Security Networking news F5 looks to squelch 'ball of fire' that is application security Updates include security scanning and penetration testing capabilities for web applications, as well as a new container-based web application firewall. By Michael Cooney May 01, 2024 4 mins Firewalls Network Security Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe