New Flaw in Apple Devices Led to Spyware Infection, Researchers Say

Apple iPhone 14 phones sit on display at an Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP)
Apple iPhone 14 phones sit on display at an Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP)
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New Flaw in Apple Devices Led to Spyware Infection, Researchers Say

Apple iPhone 14 phones sit on display at an Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP)
Apple iPhone 14 phones sit on display at an Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP)

Researchers at digital watchdog group Citizen Lab said on Thursday they found spyware they linked to Israeli firm NSO that exploited a newly discovered flaw in Apple devices.

While inspecting the Apple device of an employee of a Washington-based civil society group last week, Citizen Lab said it found the flaw had been used to infect the device with NSO's Pegasus spyware, it said in a statement.

"We attribute the exploit to NSO Group's Pegasus spyware with high confidence, based on forensics we have from the target device," said Bill Marczak, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, which is based at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

He said the attacker likely made a mistake during the installation which is how Citizen Lab found the spyware.

Citizen Lab said Apple confirmed to them that using the high security feature "Lockdown Mode" available on Apple devices blocks this particular attack.

"This shows that civil society is once again serving as the early warning system about really sophisticated attacks," said John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab.

Citizen Lab did not provide further details on the affected individual or the organization.

The flaw allowed compromise of iPhones running the latest version of iOS (16.6) without any interaction from the victim, the digital watchdog said. The new update fixes this vulnerability.

Apple issued new updates on its devices after investigating the flaws reported by Citizen Lab. An Apple spokesperson said it had no further comment, while Citizen Lab urged consumers to update their devices.

NSO said in a statement, "We are unable to respond to any allegations that do not include any supporting research."

The Israeli firm has been blacklisted by the US government since 2021 for alleged abuses, including surveillance of government officials and journalists.



Google to Discount Cloud Computing Services for US Government, FT Reports

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
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Google to Discount Cloud Computing Services for US Government, FT Reports

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa

Google will heavily discount cloud computing services for the United States government, in a deal that could be finalized within weeks, the Financial Times reported on Friday, amid President Donald Trump's efforts to implement sweeping measures to minimize federal spending.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Oracle will offer federal agencies a 75% discount on its license-based software and a "substantial" discount on its cloud service through the end of November.

Google's cloud contract is likely "to land in a similar spot", the Financial Times said, citing a senior official at the General Services Administration, adding that equivalent discounts from Microsoft's Azure and Amazon Web Services are expected to follow soon.

"Every single of those companies is totally bought in, they understand the mission," the senior official told the newspaper. "We will get there with all four players."

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Google and the General Services Administration did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours.

In April, Google agreed to offer a 71% discount till September 30 to US federal agencies for its business apps package that could generate up to $2 billion in cost savings if there is government-wide adoption.