Wikileaks has been at it again this week, revealing the deepest secrets of the US intelligence community in its latest dump of sensitive and classified information.
And as we all fret over whether our Snapchat stories are being monitored by the director of the CIA himself, Apple has made sure to address the latest revelations and reassure users that they’re safe with iOS.
The documents released by Wikileaks, in the so-called “Vault 7” release, revealed a series of security “zero-day” vulnerabilities within iOS, which the CIA could take advantage of to bug phones.
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And us brits aren’t escaping the scorn of the populace, as it seems some of the tools used by the CIA may have been developed by British Agency GCHQ.
But Apple has been quick to reassure users that their iPhones are safe, claiming that, to the best of the company’s knowledge, the latest version of iOS introduced fixes for the bugs in question.
GCHQ
An Apple spokesperson told The Telegraph: “Apple is deeply committed to safeguarding our customers’ privacy and security.
“The technology built into today’s iPhone represents the best data security available to consumers, and we’re constantly working to keep it that way.
“Our products and software are designed to quickly get security updates into the hands of our customers, with nearly 80 per cent of users running the latest version of our operating system.”
The “Vault 7” release revealed several bugs which allowed the agency to keep track of specific users’ iPhones, Android phones, and computers.
Even Samsung smart TVs were targeted, with software designed to make TVs look as though they were off while audio from the room was recorded.
Among the revelations in the documents were 14 different iOS vulnerabilities, many of which related to outdated versions of the OS.
The “Vault 7” release also claimed the CIA maintains a specialised division within its “Mobile Development Branch” dedicated to iOS devices.
The spokesman added: “While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities.
“We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates.”
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Let us know what you think of the whole debacle in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
