The Pegasus software, developed by the Israeli company NSO, was designed to investigate terrorists. however its use has been distorted, something similar to what happened with the AirTag, and have been used in at least 50 countries to spy on mobile phones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, executives and presidents. Many have been the affected companies. WhatsApp for example is one of those that have suffered the most. Apple has not escaped but it seems that it does not care too much, at least for the statements they have made from Apple.
Expert Reports Say Apple Should Do More Than It Does
A new report suggests that the scale of the problem caused by misuse of Pegasus software it is much greater than feared. An international group of researchers and journalists from Amnesty International, Forbidden Stories and more than a dozen other organizations published forensic evidence that various governments around the world, including Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. , they may be customers of the notorious Israeli spyware provider.
Los investigadores studied a leaked list of 50.000 phone numbers associated with activists, journalists, executives and politicians who were subjected to surveillance. They also specifically analyzed 37 devices infected or attacked by NSO's Pegasus invasive spyware. They even created a tool for you to check if Apple devices have been compromised.
Many security researchers They say Apple can and should do more to protect its users against these sophisticated surveillance tools.
- According to the independent researcher Cedric Owens:
“It definitely shows challenges in general with mobile device security and investigative capabilities these days. I also think that seeing infections by NSO shows that motivated and resourceful attackers can still succeed. Apple is trying, But the problem is that they are not trying as hard as their reputation implies.
- mastthew green from Johns Hopkins University:
“Many criticisms have focused on Apple in this regard. Historically the company has offered stronger security protections for its users than Android's fragmented ecosystem.
- Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, SentinelOne Principal Threat Investigator:
The truth is that we hold Apple to a higher standard precisely because they are doing so much better. Others are free for everyone. I don't think anyone expects their security to improve to a point where all we need to worry about are targeted attacks with zero-day exploits.
Apple with Tim Cook at the helm does not help to ease the tension and criticism due to the latest statements about Pegasus
After all of the above, it was hoped that Apple could launch a kind of hopeful ray and tell the world that they would do everything possible so that these things did not happen again. However what you said has left security specialists and leading researchers very cold.
Ivan Krstic, Apple's head of security engineering and architecture, stated that the iMessage exploit used in Pegasus data loss is not a threat to most users.
Apple unequivocally condemns cyberattacks against journalists, human rights activists and others who are trying to make the world a better place. For well over a decade, Apple has been the industry leader in security innovation. As a result, security scholars agree that Apple has the most secure consumer devices on the market. Assaults such as those described are very complex, cost millions of US dollars to advance, often have a short lifespan, and are used to attack specific individuals. Beyond that this means that they do not pose a threat to the vast majority of our users. We continue to work tirelessly to protect all of our customers from the service, adding new protections for their gadgets and data all the time.
Apple may be safe and those of us who use its devices may not have the same problem as others. However, I think Apple you should get a little more involved in this matter. Apple is synonymous with privacy. You have to prove it.