Hackers in your vicinity could take over your iPhone, access your data and even control your camera to spy on your activities.
This frightening security flaw was brought to light by Google researcher Ian Beer, who uncovered the vulnerability that allowed hackers to control any iPhone in WiFi range. Apple confirmed to Fox Business that the issue was repaired.
“This issue was fixed in May with iOS 13.5 and the vast majority of our users keep their software current as you can see here from data published around the time this was patched,” an Apple spokesperson said. “The other point being that is good to note is this does require some proximity as it needs to be within WiFi range. Hope this is useful.”
Beer, a security researcher for Google’s Project Zero, said he spent six months of 2020 trying to uncover an exploit in which he was able to “gain complete control over any iPhone” in his vicinity.
In a 30,000-word blog published Tuesday, Beer said, “Imagine the sense of power an attacker with such a capability must feel. As we all pour more and more of our souls into these devices, an attacker can gain a treasure trove of information on an unsuspecting target.”
Project Zero founder Chris Evans told ArsTechnica that the scary thing about this one is that it works without any user interaction at all, and leaves no clue that their privacy was violated.
Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) appears to be the weak link. It’s a mesh networking protocol for iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches to form networks. If you own an Apple device, sending and receiving data of any kind, you likely are unknowingly connecting to these transient networks multiple times a day.
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