EFE.- Apple issued an emergency update to its software on Monday to combat a flaw detected in iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch that allows spyware to be installed.
“This update provides important security improvements and is recommended to all users,” reads the description of iOS 14.8 for iPhones in the App Store.
The Cupertino, California company responded to the report published by the University of Toronto (Canada) Citizen Lab, according to which the Israeli software company NSO Group has been infecting iPhone phones and other Apple devices since February, taking advantage of this flaw. of security.
Spyware is installed through the iMessage instant messaging program and affects both iOS (mobile operating system) and MacOS (computers) and WatchOS (watches).
Exploiting the vulnerability of the system, this spyware It is installed without the need for the user to perform any operation, and it affects all versions of operating systems except those issued this Monday.
To update the operating system on an iPhone, the user must go to Settings / General / Software Update and there download the iOS 14.8 version.
On Mac and Apple Watch the process is similar.
Citizen Lab discovered the vulnerability of the system and its exploitation by the NSO Group when it found that an iPhone belonging to a Saudi activist had been infected with spyware known as Pegasus.
Follow the information about business and current affairs in Forbes Mexico
Pegasus allows the perpetrator access to the activities of the infected device, as well as to the camera, microphone, photographs, location, text messages, e-mails and calls without the victim even having knowledge of it.
The Israeli company NSO Group is reportedly dedicated to cybersecurity, but its software is used by governments around the world to often gain illicit access to phones and other devices by journalists, activists and political enemies.
Follow us on Google News to keep you always informed