Sophisticated iPhone spying

A setback for Apple, which advertises the security of its devices. Newly discovered spy software has been able to gain unprecedented access to iPhones and other Apple devices. According to IT security firm Lookout, three previously unknown software vulnerabilities allowed the program to read messages and emails, track calls, tap passwords, make audio recordings and track the user's location, among other things. According to experts, the program was also used against human rights activists and journalists. Apple plugged the security holes in the iPhone system iOS on Thursday - about two weeks after the first suspicion.

Intelligence level capabilities

It is unprecedented that a software for monitoring iPhones with such capabilities, usually attributed only to intelligence agencies, could be discovered and analyzed. According to the experts, behind the program is a company from Israel, which was taken over by a financial investor and is considered a kind of cyber weapons dealer. The malware was discovered when a well-known human rights activist from the United Arab Emirates became suspicious of a message with a link to alleged information about torture of prisoners in the country. Instead of clicking on the link, Ahmed Mansur called in the security researchers, he said. They gave the name "Pegasus" to the discovered surveillance program.

Variety of information on mobile devices

"Pegasus is the most sophisticated attack we have ever seen on an endpoint device," Lookout summed up. The program benefits from the fact that mobile devices are deeply integrated into everyday life, he said. They also combine a wide range of information such as passwords, photos, emails, contact lists and GPS location data. The spy software is modular and uses encryption to avoid detection. Lookout, meanwhile, lets iPhone users use an app to check whether their device has been infected. The Canadian Citizen Lab also found evidence that a Mexican journalist and previously unknown targets in Kenya had been spied on with the help of "Pegasus". Overall, however, it initially remained unclear how widely it might have been used and for how long. A spokesman for NSO Group, the company suspected of being the originator, told the New York Times that they only sell to government agencies and strictly adhere to export regulations. He would not say whether the company's software was in use in the United Arab Emirates or Mexico.

Expensive "zero-day" vulnerabilities

The iOS version 9.3.5. released by Apple is intended for iPhones, iPad tablets and the multimedia player iPod touch. For the company, the spyware is a painful damper: the security of the devices is an important pillar of Apple's marketing and the company invests a lot in encryption and other security mechanisms. Apple emphasized that it always recommends users to use the latest iOS version. So-called "zero-day" security vulnerabilities, which are not known to the provider of a software, are used by intelligence agencies and criminal hackers. The "Stuxnet" computer worm, which sabotaged Iran's nuclear program, also attacked several such gaps. "Zero-day" vulnerabilities in iPhones are priced high and can also cost a million dollars. That "Pegasus" used three of them at once is therefore relatively unusual. (SDA)