Google reveals iPhone cyber hack that was enabled by 12 security flaws
A security researcher from Google has detailed that the firm has discovered a hacking effort aimed at iPhones, for the purpose of obtaining personal data.
The hack was enabled by 12 security flaws, most of these beings bugs from Apple’s Safari web browser, and the attack was carried out through websites that implanted monitoring software to gather personal data and submitted the information to an external exploit server every 60 seconds.
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The weaknesses were uncovered by Google’s Project Zero cyber security taskforce, and Apple fixed the flaws with a security update that rolled out in February (iOS 12.4.1).
The news of this security weakness was disclosed by a Google employee, and it has hit the headlines just weeks before Apple’s next mobile operating system, iOS 13, is set to be rolled out.
The new software is set to include a new security feature called ‘Sign in with Apple’, which will hopefully reduce cases of personal data theft.
Using this feature you can log in to third-party services using one account, but crucially you can control whether you share details such as age and gender, and even your email address can be hidden by supplying a randomly-generated account name which forwards received messages to your real inbox.
It’s an interesting proposal to tackle to the very real issue of personal data security, and we hope that it’s an effective solution.
Along with this feature are several other changes to the software, including Dark Mode for a grey and black interface that’s less taxing on your eyes, and big performance upgrades across the board that could make download sizes 50% smaller and reduce the size of app updates by 60% too.
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Beside the new software, Apple is soon expected to release its next-generation handset, the iPhone 11. This will be the first iPhone to run iOS 13 out of the box, but on top of that it is rumoured to have new hardware features such as a triple camera for greater photographic versatility, and a new A13 chipset for even higher performance.
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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.
