The app helps you weed out iOS apps that may be transmitting data to Russia or Belarus. Photo: MacPaw
The new SpyBuster iOS app scans your iPhone for other apps that may be surreptitiously sending your data to Russia or Belarus.
The privacy-oriented app comes from Ukraine-based developer MacPaw, which released a version of SpyBuster for macOS in the spring of 2021, not long after Russia invaded Ukraine.
You'll see the alert by text message, email, and on the Apple ID website. Image: Apple
Apple says it will send threat alerts to customers who potentially targeted by the NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus spyware.
Cupertino on Tuesday announced that it is suing NSO Group over the tools the Israeli company develops and sells to governments to spy on iPhone owners. Apple’s alerts to affected iPhone users are another effort to prevent software like Pegasus from going unnoticed.
Apple is going to court to block further development of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Photo: NSO Group/Cult of Mac
Apple filed a lawsuit Tuesday against NSO Group, the company that makes Pegasus spyware used by some countries to hack into iPhones. Apple says the goal is to hold NSO Group “accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users.”
NSO Group claims Pegasus is only used by governments to fight crime, but there are accusations that it’s being used it to hack the smartphones of activists, politicians, journalists and other individuals.
And how to tell if your iPhone is infected. Photo: NSO Group/Cult of Mac
NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware is making headlines again after it was reported that a number of governments around the world have been using it to hack the smartphones of activists, politicians, journalists and other individuals.
A list of potential surveillance targets, which includes more than 50,000 phone numbers, was leaked and obtained by a number of news outlets over the weekend, reigniting concerns over government surveillance.
So, what exactly is Pegasus? And who might be a potential target of an attack? How can you tell if your iPhone already fell victim to the spyware? We rounded up everything you need to know about Pegasus.
Facebook’s Onavo Protect did the opposite of protecting users. And it could have been more effective with Pegasus spyware. Photo: Facebook
NSO Group accuses Facebook of trying to buy access to its Pegasus surveillance software so it could better track the activities of iPhone users.
The spyware supposedly would have gone into Onavo Protect, a VPN app Facebook pulled off the App Store back in 2018 for violating Apple’s data-collection policies.
Jeff Bezos’ iPhone X was allegedly hacked. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Allegations that the ruler of Saudi Arabia played a role in hacking Jeff Bezos’ phone made headlines around the world today. A forensic report indicates this was supposedly an iPhone X, and a WhatsApp account was used.
Bezos is more than the CEO of Amazon — he’s also the owner of The Washington Post, which has been critical of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Don’t ignore the latest WhatsApp releases. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
WhatsApp users must update to the latest version of the app to avoid be infected by malicious software.
A security flaw in the popular messaging client allows the Pegasus spyware to be installed on your smartphone. WhatsApp is investigating the situation and urges its 1.5 billion users to update.
James Bond is a spy, but what about your iPhone? People want to know. Photo: Eon Pictures
Ever been discussing some product to your friends and then had an ad for it appear on your iPhone the next day? It’s happened enough that people want to know “Is my phone listening to me all the time?”
A group of computer scientists decided to test this phobia, which they dubbed panoptispy: the fear that everyone is being spied on.
Apple’s strict approach to iOS software means that spyware very rarely makes its way onto our iPhones or iPads. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t at risk. A piece of mobile spyware called FinFisher, developed by U.K.-based Gamma Group, is capable of making its way onto your iPhone and recording your every move without you knowing it.
The software can secretly turn on your handset’s microphone to listen to your conversations, it can track your location, and even monitor your emails, text messages, and calls.
The FinFisher Trojan is government spyware that is installed via a phony iTunes update. Image by Gamma International UK Ltd.
Your iPhone could be spying on you, according to the latest trove of documents from Wikileaks, which looks like it could be the biggest scandal yet.
Called the Spyfiles, it’s a trove of documents about the “mass interception industry” — the massive post-9/11 surveillance community that electronically snoops on entire populations.
The industry is selling software to government agencies — some of it delivered by Trojans — that can take over your iPhone. It can track its every use, follow your movements (even in standby), recognize your voice, record conversations, and even capture video and audio from the room it is in.