The new Pegasus spyware targets iPhones owned by the U.S. Embassy and State Department. Security researchers confirmed that some of the employees of these government bodies were affected by unknown hackers.
The new malicious software tool is quite alarming because it can be used to breach your iOS or Android device without actually forcing you to click links.
Now, Apple released a warning involving the spyware, which the NSO Israel actually developed (Niv, Shalev, and Omri) Group Technologies.
Pegasus Targets US Government-Owned iPhones
According to The Hacker News' latest report, around 11 officials of the U.S. Embassy were specifically targeted. Apple said that these individuals, who are currently stationed in Uganda or tasked to focus on issues about Israel, were singled out by the unknown malicious actors.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 9: A guest takes pictures of the new Google Pixel 3 smartphone during a Google product release event, October 9, 2018 in New York City. The phones will go on sale on October 18 for a base starting retail price of $799 for the Pixel 3 and $899 for the Pixel 3 XL. Google also released a new tablet called the Pixel Slate and the Google Home Hub.
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These attacks are the first known malicious activity involving state-backed spyware. Experts said that it was the first time they saw Pegasus used to attack U.S. government staff.
They added that this is an unusual scenario since NSO Israel is only using the sophisticated surveillance tool to spy on their victims' conversations, photos, and other files.
Although the Israeli government uses Pegasus to know their target's actual locations, NSO Group Technologies said that the spyware is blocked against U.S. phone numbers by default.
You can visit this link to see more details about the new security findings against Pegasus.
How Pegasus Spyware Works?
GeekForGeeks explained that the so-called Pegasus spyware is designed by the NSO Group Technologies to eavesdrop on computers and smartphones.
Although this is the case, the Israeli company group clarified that it is only used to help government officials to track criminals and terrorists.
However, many security experts and tech firms, including the giant iPhone maker, are now criticizing Pegasus because of the new security threat allegations against it.
"State-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability," said Apple.
In other news, Google Play Trojan malware is still affecting various apps on the search engine's platform. Meanwhile, 400,000 planned parenthood patients' data were breached by ransomware hackers.
For more news updates about security threats, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
