Apple sues NSO Group for attacking iPhones with Pegasus spyware

guest · Nov 23, 2021

Apple sues NSO Group for attacking iPhones with Pegasus spyware
Apple wants to block NSO Group from using any of its technology
November 23, 2021
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/23/22798917/apple-nso-group-spyware-pegasus-cybersecurity-research

Now Apple has followed WhatsApp and its parent company Meta (formerly known as Facebook) in suing Pegasus spyware maker NSO Group. Along with promising new information about how NSO Group infected targeted iPhones via a zero-click exploit that researchers later dubbed ForcedEntry, Apple says it’s “seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services, or devices.”

Senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi didn’t mention sideloading this time but says in a statement,

“State-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability. That needs to change...Apple devices are the most secure consumer hardware on the market — but private companies developing state-sponsored spyware have become even more dangerous.”
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Pegasus spyware is designed to let governments remotely access a phone’s microphones, cameras, and other data on both iPhones and Androids, according to Apple’s press release.

Apple’s senior director of commercial litigation Heather Grenier says in a statement to The New York Times the lawsuit is meant to be a “stake in the ground, to send a clear signal” that the company won’t allow its users to suffer “this type of abuse.”
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guest · Nov 24, 2021

Apple Outlines How It Will Notify Users Who Have Been Targeted by State-Sponsored Spyware Attacks
November 23, 2021
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/23/apple-state-sponsored-spyware-threat-notifications/

Earlier today, Apple announced that it had filed suit against NSO Group, the firm responsible for the Pegasus spyware that has been used in state-sponsored surveillance campaigns in a number of countries. NSO Group seeks to take advantage of vulnerabilities in iOS and other platforms to infiltrate the devices of targeted users such as journalists, activists, dissidents, academics, and government officials.

As part of its announcement, Apple revealed that it is notifying the "small number of users" who have been targeted via the FORCEDENTRY exploit for a now-patched vulnerability that allowed Pegasus to be installed on their devices.
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Apple also said that it will continue to notify users it believes have been targeted by state-sponsored spyware attacks "in accordance with industry best practices," and the company has now shared a new support document outlining how it will notify those users.

Notifications will be delivered to affected users via email and iMessage notifications to the addresses and phone numbers associated with the users' Apple IDs, with the notifications providing additional steps users can take to protect their devices.
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Apple acknowledges that there may be some false alarms with its notifications and that some attacks may go undetected, as it is facing constantly evolving tactics from state-sponsored attackers. Apple's threat-detection methods will similarly evolve, and so the company will not be sharing information on its methods to hinder efforts by attackers to evade detection.
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Apple sues NSO Group for attacking iPhones with Pegasus spyware

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