iPhone Pegasus exploit: Why you should update to iOS 16.6.1 right now

Apple has just released a new iOS 16 security update for the iPhones. The new update fixes a critical security vulnerability that allowed attackers to target iPhones with the NSO’s Pegasus software. Apple users who use any iPhone are urged to promptly install the update to protect their privacy. Here’s why.

What is the security vulnerability?

As per government malware investigating group Citizen Lab, which discovered the ‘BlastPass’ exploit, it “was capable of compromising iPhones running the latest version of iOS (16.6) without any interaction from the victim.”

This means attackers could target certain iPhones running on iOS 16.6 using the security vulnerability (a flaw in the coding) without needing to trick the user into any interaction like a malicious email or text message. Instead, the BlastPass flaw, details of which you can find on the original blog post allows attackers to directly access the target device.

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For the uninitiated, the Pegasus software by the Israeli NSO technology group can target smartphone and spy on them remotely. While NSO doesn’t sell the Pegasus software to individuals, numerous governments of the world are claimed to have access to the same.

How to update your iPhone

To fix the security flaw that allows the Pegasus software to target your phone, one simply needs to update their iPhone to iOS 16.6.1. To do this, head to Settings > General > Software Update and check for the update. Proceed with on-screen instructions to update your device.

If updating your iPhone immediately is not possible, users can still implement the Lockdown Mode on their iPhones, which as per the blog is confirmed by Apple to block this particular form of attack. You can prevent similar security vulnerabilities from affecting your device by making sure you’re always using the latest version of iOS on your iPhone.