Hundreds of millions of iPhones can be hacked with a new tool found in the wild

Hundreds of millions of iPhones can be hacked with a new tool found in the wild, researchers say. DarkSword, a powerful iPhone-hacking technique, has been seen in use by Russian hackers and was disclosed by researchers at Google and cybersecurity firms iVerify and Lookout on Wednesday. The exploit kit is embedded in infected websites and can instantly and silently hack iOS devices that visit those sites, though it does not affect the latest iOS updates; it works against iOS 18 and earlier versions.

Apple’s own numbers show that close to a quarter of iPhone users were on iOS 18 as of last month, underscoring the potential reach of the tool. The campaign appears to have involved Ukrainian websites and linked to other toolkit activity such as Coruna, with ties to a Russian espionage operation and potentially to a broker-based market for these techniques. Apple has released security updates to protect against both Coruna and DarkSword, and Lockdown Mode is also noted as providing protection.