Spying software has traditionally relied on convincing the targeted person to click on a booby-trapped link or file in order to install itself on their phone, tablet or computer. The flaw fixed by Apple on Monday is a so-called 'zero-click exploit', meaning that it can be installed on a device without the owner needing to do so much as click a button.īut how do such 'zero-click' attacks work, and can they be stopped? - What is a 'zero-click' hack?. Once Pegasus is installed on a phone, it can be used to read a target's messages, look at their photos, track their movements and even switch on their camera - all without the person knowing. That person is among tens of thousands believed to have been targeted with the Israeli-made Pegasus software, which according to media reports has been used worldwide to intercept the communications of activists, journalists and even heads of state.Īpple said Monday that it had 'rapidly' developed a software update after Citizen Lab alerted it to the hole in its iMessage software on September 7.Įxplosive revelations that governments have spied on people using the hugely invasive software - which was developed by the NSO Group, a secretive Israeli firm - have ricocheted around the world since July.

Apple users were urged Tuesday to update their devices after the tech giant announced a fix for a major software flaw that allows the Pegasus spyware to be installed on phones without so much as a click.Ĭybersecurity experts at the Citizen Lab, a research centre at the University of Toronto, uncovered the flaw while analyzing the phone of a Saudi activist.

Pegasus hacking software