iPhones are now under high security threats

Prior to now, apple products such as IPHONES are considered hack proof because of the complexity of their security firewalls. In fact the Silicon Valley based company has passed through a great deal in its quest to ensure its iOS break-in is very hard to pull off.

In the recent past though it is already assumed that the IPHONES and most apple related products are not prone to hack but the company is not giving up, the company quietly changed the mode of securing the codes that run in its operating system. According to reliable sources, this code is in beta version 14.5.  These current up to date mitigations by this first class company has made many agree that the apple product has almost sealed any loophole or vulnerability to zero-click hacking (0 – click hacking), Like I said “Almost”.

Apple before now released a statement which suggests that its changes will have a great impact on these 0 – click attacks that is the alterations in its iOS will definitely curb or utterly stop 0 – clicks. Not only the zero clicks even the sand box escapes as well. These sandboxes are known to isolate the applications from each other and this causes a tampering in mode at which the program interacts with the wider operating system.

Zero –clicks as a form of malicious act (hacking) has posed the greatest threat to many firewalls because of its unique mode of engagement of form of attack. Just take a look at the name then you will understand how subtle it is as a form of hacking.  The zero – clicks give hackers the permission to break through their target even without needing the assistance of the victim, there is no interaction with the victim whatsoever not involving sending a malicious link. The implication being that it becomes extremely hard to discover. Zero-click attack is generally a very sophisticated and rare attack.

When I tell you that apple designed the IPHONE to be “unhackable” if such a word exists. They implemented a technology called Pointer Authentic Codes which has a rare duty of protecting IPHONE users from any such exploits which may inject malicious code by preventing hackers to leverage corrupted memory.  The tech guru behind the awesome product has used cryptography in authenticating the pointers and validating them before usage. These ISA pointers are a related feature of iOS’s code that informs a program what code to make use of when it runs.  It is extremely hard to corrupt these pointers to manipulate objects in the system.

Prior to the present day hackers were worried at the difficulty in finding vulnerability in IPHONES and apple products.

Now I have taken a long stroll to inform you how secured these iphones are so the big question to ask now is why the sudden fear as to imminent threat recently published by the company regarding the product?

Few days ago the company quietly reported two vulnerabilities to Apple products, theses vulnerabilities now have the tendency of permitting a malicious hacker tale control of your IPHONE, IPADS or Mac. The tech giant company makes mention of these vulnerabilities as zero day vulnerabilities, according to the company, these two vulnerabilities are so much related as one infects the browsers in the Apple product and the second will give the hacker full access to your Apple device.

The majorly affected apple devices prone to this attack include the following:

IPHONE 6S Models and Later, IPAD Fifth Generation and Later, IPAD Air 2, and all IPAD Pro models, Mac computers running MacOs Monterey and also some IPADS. Although the company did not mention where and who discovered these flaws, as they only mentioned designated him as an anonymous researcher. This means that hackers can install applications in IPHONES without even the users being aware and may go to the high extent of carrying out transactions in the name of the user; a form of impersonation which might likely implicate such user.

Most people have raised comments and they seem to be disappointed based on the trust they have built up all these years for the product but in their defense the giant company said that these security flaws are not unexpected as it were since evolution of technology has been on the increase.

How to Identify If Your IPHONE Has Been Hacked

1. Data Usage: IPHONE users should keep a tab on the amount of data they consume during a period of time. This is a sure way of determining if your IPHONE has been infiltrated by a third party. If you notice that you have been exceeding your data limit recently, then you might have a cause for alarm. The increase in data usage resulting from hacking is because some hidden software that are running on the background of your IPHONE may be directly connected to the internet, implication being that, unknown to you, these software pick up your information and transfer it the third party hence making use of your data.
2. Phone Battery: IPONE users already live with the fact that IPHONE batteries don’t last so long and also it is normal for an IPONE battery to become less efficient if it has lasted for quite a long time, so a user should be aware of the above. But in a case where an IPHONE purchased recently, maybe just in a few months begins high battery drainage, then the user should be suspecting of the possibility of a hack; something might be going on in the background of your IPHONE without your knowledge. Although sometimes it’s not always a direct proof of a possible hack but there is a setting you might need to change. That notwithstanding, a battery drainage that is unaccounted for is a likely proof that that the privacy of an IPHONE has been compromised.
3. IPHONE Jailbreak: There is this particular app known as “Cydia” if you notice that some funny apps that you didn’t install suddenly appeared in your phone especially the above mentioned app then it is a sure sign that you phone has been hacked.

Although this Cydia requires the installer to handle your phone and install it so once you notice the existence of the app then you must have allowed your IPHONE fall into the hands of an unfriendly friend.

Jailbreaking functions by opening up whole host of options which permits hackers to retrieve data and monitor your device remotely.

4. Electronic interference: Although this one sometimes appears to seldom occur but it is a likely proof to suspect Privacy Bridge. There is a usual noise of interference which accompanies making call near an electronic device but when you start hearing unlikely sounds like static echoing and clicks, then you should suspect that someone is eavesdropping on your conversation.
5. Unusual unsatisfactory performance: If your IPHONE suddenly begins to take a more time than required to load an app or it starts overheating or as stated initially the battery depletes itself at a very high rate then you may have a reason to suspect that there might be a third party monitoring.
6. Suspicious text messages: If you notice that your IPHONE suddenly starts sending messages to random numbers, this is a very vivid sign that you device is under serious attack. You must need often at times to scan your sent and receive messages to be sure to you have idea of all messages sent and received on your device.

If the above stated is noticed, then you  must immediately look for any dubious app that has access to your messages and revoke the access.

What Next To Do When You Are Sure Your IPONE Has Been Hacked

• For me I usually advise that the first to take if you suspect that the privacy of your IPHONE has been compromised is to scan through the phone in search of any App that you don’t remember downloading, click on the settings of your IPHONE and continue scrolling to see all the apps in your device. Continue scrolling and don’t stop until you reach the very bottom just in case the app is hidden inside another folder. Once you are you are done in finding all these suspicious apps, then you can go on to uninstalling them.
• Install an Anti Virus: It is a very clear fact that Apple as a company offers very tight protection but it is also advisable to add other securities. Always use your security application to scan your entire device for any remaining malicious software you might have missed when you were uninstalling.
• Also sometimes carrying out a full factory reset is a good step to take. for the IPHONE full factory reset, first connect the device to a charger (very important) and then click on the Settings app and tap General, scroll down until you see the Reset button and click on it, select the Erase All Content and Settings. If perchance you have an iCloud backup, you will be asked by the phone if you want to update the backup or wipe the contents off right away so it will be your choice whether it’s worth deleting permanently or still saving some important files.
• Change your Apple ID password to make it more secure and set a two steps verification to make your Apple ID more secure.

There is this popular adage that states that taking preventive measures is more problem solving than cure so to avoid any such hacking to your IPHONE which may result to a catastrophe you never imagined, The Apple company has been quick to release a fix in its newest software update which has ‘important security updates and is recommended for all users’ hence the tech giant has advised all IPHONE and Mac users to update their IPHONE devices.

To update manually, the user should go to Settings, click on General and then Software Update and to turn on automatic update which most times is advisable, all you have to do is to go to Settings, still click on General, Software update and then select Automatic Updates.

If you want to read more about cyber security and hacking please checkout our blogs on the topic:

Online Privacy

The most dangerous types of cyber attack

War against cybercrime 

Do you find this article educating or do you have some suggestions you might want to add? please do well to drop a comment in the comment box below.