Apple Urges iPhone Users ‘Download Update after Security Scare’
Apple has issued an urgent plea to millions of iPhone users to update their devices immediately after a significant security threat emerged, with “extremely sophisticated” cyber attacks having targeted them.
Millions have been alerted about the potential Apple security breach, as iPhone hackers could potentially gain “full admin access”, allowing them to operate any software in the name of the device’s owner. Apple cautioned: “A physical attack may disable USB Restricted Mode on a locked device. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.”
The products at risk encompass the iPhone XS and subsequent models, including various iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini generations.
This alarm was raised following the failure of the USB Restricted Mode security feature, which is designed to prevent third-party software from accessing Apple devices once they have been locked for over an hour.
As of now, there are no confirmed cases of hackers gaining such access. On Monday, Apple introduced updates to its mobile operating systems, iOS and iPadOS, in response to the issues, which “may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals,” reports the Daily Mirror.
While Apple is generally considered to have strong security measures making it pretty difficult to hack, it is not immune to cyber attacks.
However, according to recent reports, data breaches affecting Apple users have become more frequent,.
A recent study found that around 2.6 billion records had been compromised over a two-year period, highlighting the growing threat of data breaches across the industry. This can directly affect Apple users.
However, due to Apple’s robust security, these breaches are considered relatively rare compared to other platforms. There is no such thing as 100% hacker-proof security, despite Apple’s claims.