(PresidentialHill.com)- Following the recent revelation of security vulnerabilities, Apple Inc. and a leading U.S. cybersecurity agency advise owners and managers of iPhone, iPad, and Macbook devices to upgrade their iOS software.
Apple has released security patches to fix flaws in Safari, iOS, and the Monterey version of macOS. According to a statement released on August 18 by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an attacker may use one of these flaws to seize control of a vulnerable device.
Users and administrators should review Apple’s security updates website, and the updates—MacOS Monterey 12.5.1, iOS 15.6.1, iPadOS 15.6.1, or Safari 15.6.1—should be installed as soon as possible.
On Wednesday, Apple published two security assessments regarding the problem, but nobody outside tech media paid much attention.
Hackers might be able to access the system with “full admin access” because of the flaws.
According to Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, in an interview with The Associated Press, that would enable burglars to pose as the device’s owner and execute any software in their name.
Users of the iPhone 6S and later versions, various iPad models, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models, and the iPad Air 2, as well as Mac computers running macOS Monterey, have been advised by security experts to upgrade the affected devices. The bug also impacts some iPod models.
Commercial spyware organizations like Israel’s NSO Group are renowned for spotting and exploiting such loopholes in malware that covertly infects targets’ smartphones, siphons their information, and continuously monitors them.
The U.S. Commerce Department has placed NSO Group on a “blacklist.” Its spyware is known to have been employed against journalists, dissidents, and human rights campaigners in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
The holes were discovered in WebKit, the Safari web browser engine, and the kernel, a program at the OS’s core (CVE-2022-32894) (CVE-2022-32893).
According to Forbes computer security writer Gordon Kelly, both weaknesses enable hackers to remotely run malicious code on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and potentially take control of your device.
Go to the Settings area on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to update the software. Next, select General, then choose Software Update.
Before selecting “download and install” to update the device, read the update.
Go to System Preferences on a Mac computer, choose Software Update, and then select Update Now or Upgrade Now.
Additionally, users can visit the App Store and select the Updates option.
