Apple will alert you if your iPhone has been hijacked by spyware

Apple announces that it has implemented a new alert system. The latter targets attacks such as Pegasus, the spyware that has infected many smartphones. IPhone users will be notified by email and iMessage if they are affected by these attacks. But the firm admits that this type of attack, funded by governments, is very difficult to detect.

Apple definitely took it very badly that Pegasus succeeded in bypassing the protections of iOS and its iPhones. Despite claims by Tim Cook that iPhones are the safest smartphones in the world, spyware, developed by Israeli company NSO Group, has achieved this feat. This has allowed some security agencies, especially American, to spy on ministers (including some French), journalists and activists.

Pegasus: France would have wanted to buy the spyware

Reacting to this massive (and targeted) attack, Apple first filed a complaint against NSO Group, for damages. She will also assist Citizen Lab, a group of University of Toronto researchers working on Pegasus. And she poured out $ 10 million to research groups fighting against cyber surveillance. But what about users who until now thought they were protected with iOS?

Apple will alert iPhone users targeted by spyware

Apple has uploaded a new technical support page dedicated to “state funded attacks.” The Cupertino company announces the establishment of a new alert system that will warn users when their iPhone is the subject of a hack. The notification will be sent by iMessage and by email. And it will bear the name ” Threat Notification “. It is not certain that its content is translated into the user’s language. A banner will also appear if the user connects to the site appleid.apple.com.

Apple adds that its alerts will never ask a user to click a link or download software, or even provide a password. The firm also recalls the right actions to reduce attacks as much as possible: keep the system and applications up to date, protect devices with code and double-factor identification, use complex and unique passwords for each service, avoid clicking on links sent by strangers.

An alert system which is far from perfect… but which exists!

On this technical support page, Apple also clarified that it is very difficult to detect this type of attack. The firm explains this by the very nature of the software that is used: it is spyware that must bypass security and not be detected by the system. ” Detection of such attacks depends on intelligence-based threat signs that are often flawed and incomplete. », We can read. Apple also confirms that false positives can also generate an alert. A system which is therefore far from perfect… but which nevertheless has the advantage of existing.

Source: Apple