Apple rolls out urgent software update for iPhone to fix Pegasus-related vulnerability

iPhone users are recommended to download this new software update and fix the exploit.

Apple has rolled out a software update for the iPhone that patches a critical vulnerability, which, according to some researchers, has been exploited using surveillance software to snoop on a Saudi activist. The software exploit has been in the current version of iOS, which is iOS 14, since February, the researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab have claimed. The exploit existed in iMessage and allowed hackers to bypass security layers when the user clicked on any link. According to the researchers, the exploit, called CVE-2021-30860, was being used to target journalists and human rights activists in Saudi Arabia and other countries through the notorious surveillance software called Pegasus developed and sold by Israeli firm NSO Group. Earlier this year, an investigation by Amnesty International shook up the world after it was reported that multiple governments were using Pegasus to snoop on prominent people in their countries, including India. Researchers also said that it was easy to target the iPhone through this snooping software because of the vulnerability in iOS. Apple did fix the vulnerability right after the claims were made, although it did not explicitly mention them.