Possible US Government iPhone-Hacking Toolkit in foreign spy and criminal hands

oxfeed65261

https://archive.ph/r7jGc

mentalgear

How could something as sensitive get out of an administration as competent as the current one? At least they have no access to lets say AI or autonomous weapons and the tools of mass surveillance ...

happyopossum

"Possible" stripped from the headline on HN. That word seems particularly important given that it's speculative: "Clues suggest it was originally built for the US government."

doctorpangloss

the government doesn't have superpowerful code crackers though it has a guy working at apple who introduces the subtle vulnerability he is instructed to do

everdrive

No matter the risk, I must carry my smartphone everywhere and install every app. It would be unimaginable to have the urge to look something up, but then wait to do it later until I'm using a real computer. No negative outcome will EVER shake my deep, permanent need to carry a smartphone all the time and use it for as much as possible.

stock_toaster

With this administration? Color me unsurprised.

auslegung

> In total, Coruna takes advantage of 23 distinct vulnerabilities in iOS, a rare collection of hacking components that suggests it was created by a well-resourced, likely state-sponsored group of hackers. People have been hacking iOS since before it was called iOS and they weren't necessarily "well-resourced, likely state-sponsored". See geohot

jesse_dot_id

It seems as though you can basically do anything in this administration if the money is right, so selling state secrets free of punishment sounds about right to me.

butILoveLife

Meanwhile last time I checked, Android bug bounty is higher. iPhone makes you an easy target. Sorry Besos, security through obscurity was a bad idea... but you should have known better.

dlev_pika

Binders with classified information were hosted in a bathroom at a country club, so…you know…

varispeed

Whenever I point out that Apple's "security by obscurity" strategy is a complete failure I get downvotes. Person suspecting their iPhone has been hacked has no way to check it. Apple only offer cope mechanism in form of "lockdown mode", which likely can be bypassed just as well. This situation shows that Apple devices are not secure and liability. They'll likely protect your grandma from getting low effort malware, but if you are a CEO - buy something else.

zem

it's also in maga and doge hands, which is arguably more dangerous for the country right now

shell0x

Trump ruined America's reputation forever imho. He keeps changing his mind every day and keeps talking bullshit. At this point the trashy drug dealer trying to sell to school kids is more reputable than the USA

markus_zhang

Many components of Coruna have never been seen before, he points out, and the whole toolkit appears to have been created by a “single author,” as he puts it. I wonder who wrote it. Must be someone really good at it. Someone who might never give a talk in a conference.

simulator5g

“The Coruna Virus”. Nice.

testaburger

does tahoe 26.3 protect against this?

Obscurity4340

> Google also notes that Coruna checks if an iOS devices has Apple's most stringent security setting, known as Lockdown Mode, enabled, and doesn’t attempt to hack it if so.