TLDR · BIG TECH & STARTUPS

4-YEAR CAMPAIGN BACKDOORED IPHONES USING POSSIBLY THE MOST ADVANCED EXPLOIT EVER

arstechnica.com8 min read

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Researchers have discovered an attack that backdoored possibly thousands of iPhones over four years. Many of the affected phones belonged to Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky. The attackers were able to achieve an unprecedented level of access by exploiting a vulnerability in an undocumented hardware feature that few people know of. It is still unknown how they became aware of the feature. The exploit was delivered through iMessage texts which installed malware without requiring the receiver to take any action. Apple has patched the exploit, which also affected Macs, iPods, iPads, Apple TVs, and Apple Watches.