Apple is planning to fix a Security Flaw that was first discovered by a former Israeli Defense Force security researcher
Apple is planning to fix a flaw that a security firm said may have left more than half a billion iPhones vulnerable to hackers. The bug, which also exists on iPads, was discovered by ZecOps, a San Francisco-based mobile security forensics company with offices in Tel Aviv and London. While investigating a sophisticated cyberattack against a client that took place in late 2019. Zuk Avraham, ZecOps’ chief executive, said that he found evidence that the vulnerability was exploited in at least six cybersecurity break-ins.
Avraham said he found evidence that a malicious program was taking advantage of the vulnerability in Apple’s iOS mobile operating system as far back as January 2018. He could not determine who the hackers were and Reuters was unable to independently verify his claim.
To execute the hack, Avraham said victims would be sent an apparently blank email message through the Mail app forcing a crash and reset. The crash opened the door for hackers to steal other data on the device, such as photos and contact details.
ZecOps claims the vulnerability allowed hackers to remotely steal data off iPhones even if they were running recent versions of iOS. By itself, the flaw could have given access to whatever the Mail app had access to, including confidential messages.
Avraham based most of his conclusions on data from 'crash reports,' which are generated when programs fail in mid-task on a device. He was then able to recreate a technique that caused the controlled crashes.
Two independent security researchers who reviewed ZecOps’ discovery found the evidence credible, but said they had not yet fully recreated its findings.
Bill Marczak, a security researcher with Citizen Lab, a Canada-based academic security research group, called the vulnerability discovery "scary."
Marczak further noted that "A lot of times, you can take comfort from the fact that hacking is preventable. With this bug, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a PhD in cybersecurity, this will eat your lunch."
An Apple spokesman acknowledged that a vulnerability exists in Apple’s software for email on iPhones and iPads, known as the Mail app, and that the company had developed a fix, which will be rolled out in a forthcoming update on millions of devices it has sold globally.
Apple declined to comment on Avraham’s research, which was published on Wednesday, that suggests the flaw could be triggered from afar and that it had already been exploited by hackers against high-profile users. For more on this, read the full Reuters report.
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