Apple issued an emergency software update on Monday after researchers found a flaw in the company’s products that made them vulnerable to powerful “no click” spyware, reports and experts said.
The exploit, called FORCEDENTERY, could attack through iMessaging services on iPhones, Mac computers and Apple watches – and may have been in use since February 2021, Citizen Lab said. It targets the rendering library, the analysis stated.
The flaw was discovered while CitizenLab examined the phone of a Saudi activist that may have been hacked by Israeli-based NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. CitizenLab determined the spyware was likely to come from NSO Group and urged readers to update any Apple software products immediately.
An investigation by the Washington Post and other media outlets released in July showed evidence that the technology firm’s spyware, meant to be used to track criminals, was used to hack or try to hack phones of journalists, human rights activists and politicians.