iPhone security compromised by Israeli spy firm

[Bob]

Just when we thought that iPhones were in better shape (such we have been brain-cleaned to believe), we hear this - UPDATE your iPhone software NOW, don't put it off..

The attack software originates from to a private seller of monitoring systems, NSO Group, an Israeli company that makes software for governments which can secretly target mobile phones and gather information.

Tools such as that used in this case, a remote exploit for a current iPhone, cost as much as $1 million (to buy from the firm for "authorized government users").

(Source - http://fortune.com/2016/08/26/iphone-security-fix/)

The hack developed by Israeli firm is the first known case that can remotely take over a fully up-to-date iPhone 6 (as of August 2016).

The Israeli's firm (NSO Group) uses a technique of simply sending a text to the iPhone to be compromised, or an email to CLICK ON A LINK, and if the user dumbly or innocently clicks, would have installed a program taking advantage of a three flaws that Apple and others were not aware of.

NSO Group brags that it can attack Android and Blackberry just as easily.

This is no small potatoes group either.

NSO has kept a low profile in the security world, despite its 2014 sale of a majority stake for $120 million to California private equity firm Francisco Partners.

That company’s chief executive, Dipanjan Deb, did not return a call Thursday.

In November 2015, Reuters reported that NSO had begun calling itself “Q” (a la James Bond's techy department) and was looking for a buyer for close to $1 billion.

[Bob]

NSO Group is an Israeli software company founded in 2009 by Niv Carmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio.

Its former chairman of the board of directors was retired general Avigdor Ben-Gal, previously head of Israel Aircraft Industries in the 1990s.

The founders are said to be ex-members of Unit 8200, the Israeli Intelligence Corps unit responsible for collecting signals intelligence; some of the company's start-up funding may also have come from Unit 8200.

A 30 percent stake was held by a group of investors led by Adi Shalev, a partner in the venture capital fund Genesis Partners.

It is reported to employ around 200 people and is based in Herzliya near Tel Aviv. Annual revenues were said to be around $40 million in 2013 and $75 million in 2015.

In 2014, the American private equity firm Francisco Partners bought the company for $110 million.

It was reported in 2015 to be seeking to sell the company for up to $1 billion.

In 2012, the government of Mexico said that it had signed a $20 million contract with NSO Group.

The company was reported in 2015 to be a supplier of surveillance technology to the government of Panama.

The contract became the subject of a Panamanian anti-corruption investigation following its disclosure in a leak of confidential information from the Italian firm Hacking Team.

The Attack Exploit's Name - PEGASUS

On August 25, 2016, Citizen Lab and Lookout revealed that malware known as 'Pegasus', created by the company.

The malware can silently jailbreak an iPhone when a victim, through spear phishing, is sent and opens a malicious URL.

When a user clicked on this link, the malware would install on the phone, hoovering up all communications and locations of the targeted iPhones including iMessage, Gmail, Viber, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Skype communications and it can collect Wi-Fi passwords.

The researchers noticed that the malware's code referenced an NSO Group product called 'Pegasus' in leaked marketing materials.

Pegasus had previously come to light in a leak of records from the Italian company Hacking Team, when it was said to have been supplied to the government of Panama.

(Sources - assorted, Forbes, BBC, Bloomberg, etc.)

Attack:

[Lifebringer]

Don't they have something else to do besides spying on everybody?

[Bob]

@lifebringer - from the OP #1

Tools such as that used in this case, a remote exploit for a current iPhone, cost as much as $1 million (to buy from the firm for "authorized government users")

sounds like their motivation is to make $$$ first, probably nationalistic loyalty secondly, and no doubt "corporate espionage" is probably high on their client's list(s). Follow that up with sabotage of "enemy" installations, programs, "evoking dirty trix".. (a bit more than just 'spying')