The tools produced by the NSO Group may have been used to spy on journalists and activists. Apple has now commented on the issue.
A report claims that tools developed to spy on criminals have also been used against journalists and activists. The NSO Group's "Pegasus" tool is able to jailbreak a device such as an iPhone and spy on the user. After the whole thing became known, Apple has now spoken out and in a statement explains the following:
iPhones are among the safest mobile devices
Apple unequivocally condemns cyberattacks against journalists, human rights activists, and others who are trying to make the world a better place. For more than a decade, Apple has led security innovation, and as a result, security researchers agree that iPhone is the most secure mobile device on the market. Attacks like those described are highly sophisticated, cost millions of dollars to develop, often have a short lifespan, and are used to target specific individuals. While that means they don't pose a threat to the overwhelming majority of our users, we continue to work tirelessly to protect all of our customers, and we're constantly adding new protections for their devices and data.
Apple devices have a reputation for being very secure and difficult to hack or compromise. However, a new exploit or vulnerability can be used to target individuals. It appears that the cyberattacks were carried out via a zero-click iMessage vulnerability, an Apple Music attack vector, and other services.
Cyberattacks: Apple will patch the vulnerabilities
The Pegasus tool is provided by the NSO Group as a means of spying on criminals. Of course, the tool can also be used against the good guys. A group of ten governments are believed to be NSO customers, such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, and the UAE. Non-criminal targets seem to be only those who might criticize a government, such as journalists, so the average consumer has no need to fear this spyware. Apple will likely patch all of the attack vectors used by Pegasus in upcoming software updates. However, this will always remain a game of cat and mouse as long as new vulnerabilities are discovered in the wild. (Photo by Chor Muang / Bigstockphoto)
