Tech giant Apple has released an urgent security update (iOS 16.6.1 and iPadOS 16.6.1) after it discovered a system flaw that could have been ‘actively exploited’ by hackers.
The bug was found by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab security research facility, which claimed the exploit could compromise iPhones and iPads running the latest version of iOS. The vulnerability meant that Israeli group NSO could deliver Pegasus spyware to watch, hear, and see your every move without any interaction or intervention. The hacker could take over your device just by sending a maliciously crafted attachment in iMessage.
The spyware, Pegasus, gives hackers complete access to the user’s phone (including encrypted apps) and has been targeting iPhone users all throughout this year.
“These exploits are usually against folks with high threat models – people in the public eye, folks working in government, individuals being targeted or harassed by nation-state actors, journalists,” security expert Rachel Tobac wrote in a Twitter thread.