NSO Group Found New Ways to Hack iPhones Last Year, Citizen Lab Researchers Say
The Israeli surveillance technology company NSO Group used at least three methods for breaking into iPhones when targeting members of civil society in 2022, according to a report by the Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto.
The methods, known as zero-click exploit chains, allows the company to circumvent security features of the Apple Inc. phones and install NSO's “Pegasus” spyware, which can collect information from a device and also use its cameras and microphones for real-time surveillance. In zero-click hacks, a user doesn't have to click on a malicious link for the malware to infect a device.
Citizen Lab said the hacking methods were used against devices belonging to members of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez AC Human Rights Center, known as Centro Prodh, a Mexican human rights group. A representative for the group couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
An Apple representative said that while the threats outlines by Citizen Lab only impact “a very small number of our customers, “we take any attack on our users extremely seriously and we continue to build more defenses into our products.”
An NSO spokesperson said the company “adheres to strict regulation and its technology is used by its governmental customers to fight terror and crime around the world.” The spokesperson also took aim at Citizen Lab, which has produced numerous reports outlining misuse of spyware from NSO and others, saying, “Citizen Lab has repeatedly produced reports that are unable to determine the technology in use and they refuse to share their underlying data.”
The Israeli firm has been subjected to intense scrutiny — from Citizen Lab, journalists and government officials — due to reports that its technology has been used
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