Apple announced on Monday (September 13th) that it had fixed a computer flaw that the controversial Pegasus software, from the Israeli company NSO, was able to exploit to infect branded devices without the user even clicking a link or button. trap.
The flaw was spotted by Citizen Lab researchers, who discovered that a Saudi activist's iPhone had been infected via iMessage, Apple's messaging system.
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According to this cybersecurity organization at the University of Toronto, Pegasus has been using this vulnerability "
since at least February 2021
".
"
This exploit, which we named FORCEDENTRY, targets Apple's image rendering library, and worked against Apple iOS, MacOS and WatchOS devices,
" the operating systems of mobile phones, computers and smartwatches from the brand to Apple.
"
Apple is aware of a report that this flaw could be exploited,
" noted the tech giant in its update note released Monday.
Citizen Lab had played a key role in bringing the mass spy scandal to light via Pegasus in July.
According to information from a consortium of 17 media, in France, an issue of Emmanuel Macron, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe and 14 members of the government appeared "
in the list of issues selected by a security service of the 'Moroccan state, user of Pegasus spyware, for potential piracy
'. In all, according to Amnesty and Forbidden Stories, the case concerns a list of 50,000 phone numbers around the world selected since 2016 by NSO customers. Pegasus allows "
to buy his own NSA
", the American intelligence agency, Ron Deibert, the director of Citizen Lab, joked in July. Apple did not immediately respond to an AFP solicitation.
