Apple is calling on users of its phones, laptops, iPads and watches to immediately install a security update. The update prevents spyware from the NSO Group, an Israeli software developer, from being installed.
In July, it was revealed that the NSO Group’s Pegasus software is being used worldwide to hack into journalists, human rights activists and lawyers. If a phone is infected, the perpetrators can steal files such as photos and emails. Microphone and camera can also be turned on remotely.
Research by The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto revealed that the malware can be delivered to Apple devices via the iMessage app. As far as The Citizen Lab could determine, it was first successful in February. There are 1.6 billion vulnerable Apple devices in circulation worldwide.
NSO Group
The NSO Group is an Israeli company that specializes in spy software. Clients include intelligence and investigative services and armies in 40 countries, including Rwanda, India, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. According to the media that published about the leak, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán also took advantage of it.
NSO says the spyware is intended to fight terrorism and crime, not aid human rights abuses.