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(This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home4/scienrds/scienceandnerds/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/04\/18\/apple-lockdown-mode-iphone-nso-pegasus\/<\/a><\/br> Last year, Apple launched a new feature<\/a> for iPhone users who are worried about getting targeted with sophisticated spyware, such as journalists or human rights defenders. Now, researchers say they have found evidence that the feature \u2014 called Lockdown Mode<\/a> \u2014 helped block an attack by hackers using spyware made by the infamous mercenary hacking provider NSO Group.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the cybersecurity and human rights research group Citizen Lab released a report<\/a> analyzing three new zero-day exploits in iOS 15 and iOS 16 \u2014 meaning Apple was unaware of the vulnerabilities at the time they were used to target<\/a> at least two Mexican human rights defenders.<\/p>\n One of those exploits was blocked by Lockdown Mode, the researchers found. Lockdown Mode was specifically designed to reduce the iPhone\u2019s attack surface \u2014 cybersecurity lingo referring to parts of the code or features of a system prone to attacks by hackers. This is the first documented case where Lockdown Mode has successfully protected someone from a targeted attack.<\/p>\n In the recent cases, Citizen Lab researchers said that the targets\u2019 iPhones blocked the hacking attempts and showed a notification saying Lockdown Mode prevented someone from accessing the phone\u2019s Home app. The researchers, however, note that it\u2019s possible that at some point NSO\u2019s exploit developers \u201cmay have figured out a way to correct the notification issue, such as by fingerprinting Lockdown Mode.\u201d<\/p>\n As other researchers have pointed out in the past, it\u2019s easy to fingerprint users to determine who has Lockdown Mode turned on<\/a>, but that\u2019s not to say its protections are not meaningful. As this case found by Citizen Lab shows, Lockdown Mode can be effective.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that Lockdown Mode seems to have thwarted, and even notified targets of a real-world zero-click attack shows that it is a powerful mitigation, and is a cause for great optimism,\u201d Bill Marczak, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab and one of the authors of the report, told TechCrunch. \u201cBut, as with any optional feature, the devil is always in the details. How many people will opt to turn on Lockdown Mode? Will attackers simply move away from exploiting Apple apps and target third-party apps, which are harder for Lockdown Mode to secure?\u201d<\/p>\n Apple spokesperson Scott Radcliffe said in a statement: \u201cWe are pleased to see that Lockdown Mode disrupted this sophisticated attack and alerted users immediately, even before the specific threat was known to Apple and security researchers. Our security teams around the world will continue to work tirelessly to advance Lockdown Mode and strengthen the security and privacy protections in iOS.\u201d<\/p>\n NSO Group spokesperson Liron Bruck did not respond to a series of questions, instead sending a statement saying that \u201cCitizen Lab has repeatedly produced reports that are unable to determine the technology in use and they refuse to share their underlying data. NSO adheres to strict regulation and its technology is used by its governmental customers to fight terror and crime around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Citizen Lab\u2019s report identified three different exploits \u2014 all \u201czero-click,\u201d meaning they did not require any interaction by the target \u2014 by analyzing several phones that were suspected to have been hacked with NSO\u2019s spyware, also known as Pegasus.<\/p>\n Pegasus, which NSO sells exclusively to government customers, can remotely obtain a phone\u2019s location, messages, photos, and virtually anything the phone\u2019s legitimate owner can access. For years, researchers at Citizen Lab, Amnesty International and other organizations have documented several cases where NSO customers used the company\u2019s spyware to target journalists<\/a>, human rights defenders<\/a>, and opposition politicians<\/a>.<\/p>\n Citizen Lab\u2019s new findings show that NSO is still alive and well, despite a rocky past couple of years. In 2021, an international consortium of media organizations launched the Pegasus Project<\/a>, a series of articles detailing scandals involving NSO all over the world. Then, later that year, the U.S. government put NSO on a denylist<\/a>, effectively barring any U.S. company or individual from doing business with the company.<\/p>\n \u201cOther companies have folded, but, at least for now, NSO is still able to bear these increased costs, and Pegasus remains an active threat to global civil society,\u201d Marczak said.<\/p>\n Of the recent batch of exploits: the first exploit was deployed in January 2022 by NSO customers and exploited the iPhone\u2019s FindMy feature, which helps owners locate their lost or stolen phones. The second exploit deployed starting in June 2022 and is a \u201ctwo-step\u201d exploit, meaning it targets two features, in this case the FindMy feature and iMessage. And the last exploit, deployed starting in October 2022 exploited the iPhone\u2019s HomeKit and iMessage functionalities.<\/p>\n In its report, Citizen Lab said the two Mexicans targeted by the exploits investigate human rights violations allegedly carried out by the Mexican military. The Mexican government is a known spyware customer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Citizen Lab reported all these exploits to Apple, which have since then pushed updates and reduced the attack surface. Apple fixed the HomeKit-based vulnerability in iOS 16.3.1, released in February.<\/p>\n Do you have more information about NSO Group? Or another surveillance tech provider? We\u2019d love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Wickr, Telegram and Wire @lorenzofb, or email lorenzo@techcrunch.com. You can also contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n
\nApple\u2019s high security mode blocked NSO spyware, researchers say<\/br>
\n2023-04-18 22:16:37<\/br><\/p>\n
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