Apple has released an operating system update to address vulnerabilities that allowed malware to take control of devices, the company said in a report. The update is intended for iPhone 6 and all subsequent generations of smartphones and iPad tablets.
The vulnerability was identified thanks to the Canadian Citizen Lab, which specializes in Internet security, reports Reuters. According to experts, we are talking about the development of the Israeli firm NSO Group, capable of bypassing the security systems created by Apple in recent years.
A Citizen Lab report says a vulnerability called ForcedEntry was discovered while examining a Saudi Arabian activist's smartphone. His phone was infected with Pegasus software, which was developed by the NSO Group. Experts believe that the vulnerability has been used for hacking devices since at least February.
According to experts, the vulnerability affected not only Apple smartphones and tablets, but also Mac computers. It allowed running malicious code while processing infected PDF files without any user action. Citizen Lab relayed the information to Apple.
The corporation did not specify whether the NSO Group is related to the vulnerability, Reuters reports. The Israeli company did not confirm or deny that the development belongs to it.
The vulnerability became known the day before Apple's presentation, which will be held on September 14. At it, the company is expected to introduce four new iPhones, Apple Watch with wider screens, updated versions of AirPods and MacBook Pro laptops.
NSO Group insists that Pegasus software is designed to fight terrorism and crime. However, over the summer, Forbidden Stories, a nonprofit journalist organization and the Washington Post, The Guardian, Haaretz and Les Echos, reported that authorities in several countries used the software to hack the phones of journalists and activists around the world.
