"Zero Click" infects Apple, issues emergency security

After detecting a flaw which allows highly invasive spyware from Israel’s NSO Group to infect any of the iPhones, iPads, Macs or Apple watches, Apple proclaimed emergency software updates for an uncertain vulnerability in its products.

The security team was informed to fix the issue after researchers at the University of Toronto found out a Saudi activist’s iPhone had been infected with an advance form of spyware named Pegasus from NSO. Known as a “zero click remote exploit”, it allows the officials, mercenaries and criminals to burgle anyone’s device without the target knowing.

Using this method, the user’s camera and microphone can turn on automatically and can record messages, calls, emails, even the encrypted messages and then sending them back to NSO’s clients at governments around the world.

John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab said, “This spyware can do everything an iPhone user can do on their device and more”. He along with his fellow researcher Bill Marczak found out this spyware.

This results in an upsurge in the cybersecurity arms race, with higher authorities eager to pay any cost to snoop over digital communications simultaneously and with other tech companies to fix the latest vulnerabilities that allow such surveillance.