Update your iPhone and iPad now Apple just fixed a big iOS and iPadOS
security flaw

Date:
Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:42:47 +0000

Description:
Apple has just released iOS 16.6.1 and iPadOS 16.6.1 updates, which fix an important security flaw.

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If you own an iPhone or iPad that's running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, you should manually update your software right now Apple has just released an important security fix that could stop hackers from installing spyware on your device without even touching it.

The vulnerability has only juts been discovered, which means Apple has rushed out a fix in the form of iOS 16.6.1 and iPadOS 16.6.1 . You may need to install these updates manually even if you have automatic updates turned on to do this, go to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone or
iPad, and tap 'download and install'.

The update is available for all iPhones from the iPhone 8 onwards, all iPad Pro models, the iPad Air 3rd generation (from 2019) and later, the iPad 5th generation (from 2017) onwards, and the iPad Mini 5th gen (from 2019) or later. The security flaw was discovered by Citizen Lab, which is a spyware research group in the University of Toronto.

The reason why this particular iOS vulnerability is so noteworthy and important to fix is because it allowed the remote installation of the NGO Group's Pegasus mercenary spyware, which lets governments spy on citizens. As Citizen Lab explained , the exploit could do this "without any interaction from the victim".

The precise mechanics of how this happened to an employee of an international civil society organizationthe incident that raised the alarm bells aren't clear. But it involved the coding framework behind Apple Pay and Wallet being hacked with attachments containing malicious images, which were sent from the attacker's iMessage account.

Citizen Lab says that it'll publish "a more detailed discussion of the
exploit chain in the future", but for now we'd recommend updating your iPhone or iPad as soon as possible. Keeping your iPhone secure (Image credit:
Future)

While Apple devices continue to have a reputation for being superior to
rivals in terms of cybersecurity, iOS security flaws have increasingly hit
the headlines in recent years .

This led Apple to announced a new Rapid Security Response feature at WWDC 2022, which lets you download security patches as soon as theyre available
and without even needing to reboot your device.

The downside is that, on rare occasions, these can also automatically update devices to flawed software patches, so it's possible to remove the feature.
To do this, go to General>Software Update>Automatic Updates, then toggle the'Security Responses & System Files'to off.

We'd still recommend keeping that feature on, though, and Apple didn't use it for these latest iOS 16.6.1 and iPadOS 16.6.1 updates. Those have been pushed out as standard system updates, but it's worth manually installing them even if you have automatic updates turned on, rather than waiting for that to happen overnight.

While the targets of these kinds of spyware attacks are naturally likely to
be government officials, they can open the door to follow-up attacks from other hackers, so keeping your phone up to date is good for the health of the overall operating systems. You might also like Apple's best iOS 17 features will make Android owners feel more left out than ever Apple's iOS 17 is a lot more exciting than Android 14, but that's not totally a good thing I tried
iOS 17 and its most fun-filled features



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/update-your-iphone-and-ipad-now-apple- just-fixed-a-big-ios-and-ipados-security-flaw


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