Jakarta, INTI - iPhone users in various countries have reportedly been targeted by a malicious cyberattack using malware called Darksword, capable of stealing information from their devices.
This discovery was uncovered by security firms Lookout, iVerify, and Google. iVerify and Google also identified another piece of spyware called Coruna. Lookout's principal researcher, Justin Albrecht, stated that a new verified exploit path has emerged that could potentially be exploited by criminals.
According to Google, the Darksword attacked users in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, and Ukraine, with specific links to Turkish commercial surveillance vendor PARS Defense. It has not given any comments.
Research from iVerify and Lookout also found that the malware primarily targets devices running iOS 18.4 until 18.6.2, with victims accessing specific websites originating from Ukraine.
iPhone Users to Update Their iOS
The exact number of affected iPhones is uncertain, but it is estimated that between 220–270 million iPhones are still running the vulnerable version of iOS. To mitigate this threat, users are advised to immediately update their devices' operating systems to the latest version.
The iOS 18 was introduced by Apple in 2024, before the launch of the iPhone 16. After that, Apple changed the naming scheme of the operating system based on the year, so that its successor was named iOS 26 which brought the updated "liquid glass" design.
Apple emphasized that this exploit occurred on outdated software and could have been prevented with an update, and emphasized that system updates remain the most important step in maintaining device security.
Conclusion
Darksword malware attacks targeted hundreds of millions of iPhone users across multiple countries by exploiting vulnerabilities in older iOS versions, allowing user data to be stolen. The findings by Lookout, iVerify, and Google underscore the importance of system updates, as Apple stated the threat can be prevented by updating to the latest iOS version.
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