06/22/2023

Apple Fixes iPhone Software Flaws

The issues were allegedly used used in widespread Russian hacks

On Wednesday, Apple said it had fixed two newly discovered security flaws in its iPhones and iPads that had been used to hack thousands of devices in Russia, underscoring the seriousness of a campaign that Russian intelligence blamed on the United States.

Apple credited the discovery of the flaws to researchers from Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab, which said three weeks ago that its senior employees were among those targeted. At the same time as Kaspersky's initial announcement, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accused the National Security Agency of being responsible. It did not provide evidence or explain how it reached that conclusion. The NSA did not respond to a request for comment.

Kaspersky said previously that the attack worked by sending an iMessage with a malicious attachment. Without ever seeing that message, the phone’s user would be infected and the attacker could run code of their choosing. The infection would disappear when users turned their phones off and on again, which experts say consumers should do at regular intervals. Apple's optional Lockdown Mode also blocked the attacks.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.