Apple is encouraging people to update their iPhones in light of new cybersecurity research that suggests that Russian intelligence, Chinese cybercriminals and other hackers have been using tools nicknamed DarkSword and Coruna to take over phones running older versions of the iOS operating system.
The tools, called exploit kits, have been detailed this month by Google and cybersecurity companies iVerify and Lookout. Both can give hackers deep remote access to victims’ phones and let them search through their contents.
On Wednesday, iVerify wrote in a news release: “DarkSword appears to be a surveillance and intelligence gathering tool, blanket pulling data including Wi-Fi passwords, text messages, call history, root location history, browser history, SIM card and cellular data as well as health, notes and calendar databases.”
An Apple spokesperson, Sarah O’Rourke, said that the two tools can only work against devices running older versions of Apple’s operating system, reinforcing the need for people to
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