Phones as spying devices

August 26, 2016

Featured prominently in the media this week was news from experts at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab along with security company Lookout that iPhone users should update their software to fix a dangerous security flaw that could allow hackers to secretly track a user’s data. The flaw was discovered after the human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor was targeted with a malicious text message inviting him to click on a web link. Mansoor thought the message looked suspicious and forwarded it to security researchers. If Mansoor had clicked on the link, it would have installed a very sophisticated spyware program that took advantage of three flaws within Apple’s software the company was unaware of. Political Scientist and director of the Citizen Lab Ron Deibert was interviewed on CBC’s Metro Morning to expand on the story.

U of T News: Citizen Lab researchers discover attack on iPhone belonging to UAE activist

Global News: New iPhone security threat may leave your personal data vulnerable to hackers