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November 23, 2021
PRESS RELEASE
Apple sues NSO Group to curb the abuse of state-sponsored spy ware
Apple additionally introduced a $10 million contribution to help cybersurveillance researchers and advocates
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple right this moment filed a lawsuit towards NSO Group and its guardian firm to carry it accountable for the surveillance and concentrating on of Apple customers. The grievance gives new data on how NSO Group contaminated victims’ gadgets with its Pegasus spy ware. To forestall additional abuse and hurt to its customers, Apple can also be in search of a everlasting injunction to ban NSO Group from utilizing any Apple software program, companies, or gadgets.
NSO Group creates subtle, state-sponsored surveillance know-how that permits its extremely focused spy ware to surveil its victims. These assaults are solely aimed toward a really small variety of customers, and so they influence folks throughout a number of platforms, together with iOS and Android. Researchers and journalists have publicly documented a historical past of this spy ware being abused to focus on journalists, activists, dissidents, lecturers, and authorities officers.1
“State-sponsored actors just like the NSO Group spend hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on subtle surveillance applied sciences with out efficient accountability. That should change,” mentioned Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice chairman of Software program Engineering. “Apple gadgets are probably the most safe client {hardware} in the marketplace — however non-public firms growing state-sponsored spy ware have change into much more harmful. Whereas these cybersecurity threats solely influence a really small variety of our clients, we take any assault on our customers very critically, and we’re continually working to strengthen the safety and privateness protections in iOS to maintain all our customers protected.”
NSO Group’s FORCEDENTRY Exploit
Apple’s authorized grievance gives new data on NSO Group’s FORCEDENTRY, an exploit for a now-patched vulnerability beforehand used to interrupt right into a sufferer’s Apple system and set up the newest model of NSO Group’s spy ware product, Pegasus. The exploit was initially recognized by the Citizen Lab, a analysis group on the College of Toronto.
The spy ware was used to assault a small variety of Apple customers worldwide with harmful malware and spy ware. Apple’s lawsuit seeks to ban NSO Group from additional harming people through the use of Apple’s services and products. The lawsuit additionally seeks redress for NSO Group’s flagrant violations of US federal and state regulation, arising out of its efforts to focus on and assault Apple and its customers.
NSO Group and its purchasers commit the immense sources and capabilities of nation-states to conduct extremely focused cyberattacks, permitting them to entry the microphone, digicam, and different delicate information on Apple and Android gadgets. To ship FORCEDENTRY to Apple gadgets, attackers created Apple IDs to ship malicious information to a sufferer’s system — permitting NSO Group or its purchasers to ship and set up Pegasus spy ware with no sufferer’s information. Although misused to ship FORCEDENTRY, Apple servers weren’t hacked or compromised within the assaults.
Apple makes probably the most safe cell gadgets in the marketplace, and continually invests in strengthening privateness and safety protections for its customers. For instance, researchers have discovered that different cell platforms have 15 occasions extra malware infections than iPhone,2 and a current research confirmed that lower than 2 % of cell malware targets iOS gadgets.3
iOS 15 contains numerous new safety protections, together with important upgrades to the BlastDoor safety mechanism. Whereas NSO Group spy ware continues to evolve, Apple has not noticed any proof of profitable distant assaults towards gadgets working iOS 15 and later variations. Apple urges all customers to replace their iPhone and all the time use the newest software program.
“At Apple, we’re all the time working to defend our customers towards even probably the most complicated cyberattacks. The steps we’re taking right this moment will ship a transparent message: In a free society, it’s unacceptable to weaponize highly effective state-sponsored spy ware towards those that search to make the world a greater place,” mentioned Ivan Krstić, head of Apple Safety Engineering and Structure. “Our menace intelligence and engineering groups work across the clock to investigate new threats, quickly patch vulnerabilities, and develop industry-leading new protections in our software program and silicon. Apple runs one of the crucial subtle safety engineering operations on the earth, and we’ll proceed to work tirelessly to guard our customers from abusive state-sponsored actors like NSO Group.”
Apple’s Persevering with Efforts to Shield Its Customers
Apple commends teams just like the Citizen Lab and Amnesty Tech for his or her groundbreaking work to determine cybersurveillance abuses and assist shield victims. To additional strengthen efforts like these, Apple might be contributing $10 million, in addition to any damages from the lawsuit, to organizations pursuing cybersurveillance analysis and advocacy.
Apple may even help the achieved researchers on the Citizen Lab with pro-bono technical, menace intelligence, and engineering help to assist their unbiased analysis mission, and the place applicable, will provide the identical help to different organizations doing essential work on this area.
“Mercenary spy ware companies like NSO Group have facilitated a number of the world’s worst human rights abuses and acts of transnational repression, whereas enriching themselves and their buyers,” mentioned Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab on the College of Toronto. “I applaud Apple for holding them accountable for his or her abuses, and hope in doing so Apple will assist to deliver justice to all who’ve been victimized by NSO Group’s reckless habits.”
Apple is notifying the small variety of customers that it found might have been focused by FORCEDENTRY. Any time Apple discovers exercise in step with a state-sponsored spy ware assault, Apple will notify the affected customers in accordance with {industry} finest practices.
Apple believes privateness is a elementary human proper, and safety is a continuing focus for groups throughout the corporate. For years, Apple has led the {industry} with new protections to disrupt subtle assaults and defend its customers, together with options similar to pointer authentication codes (PAC), BlastDoor, and the Web page Safety Layer (PPL). For extra details about Apple’s platform safety, go to help.apple.com/information/safety/welcome/net.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized private know-how with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. At present, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s 5 software program platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — present seamless experiences throughout all Apple gadgets and empower folks with breakthrough companies together with the App Retailer, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s greater than 100,000 workers are devoted to creating the perfect merchandise on earth, and to leaving the world higher than we discovered it.
- Citizen Lab, “NSO Group iMessage Zero-Click on Exploit Captured within the Wild,” Sept. 13, 2021.
- Nokia, “Risk Intelligence Report 2020,” 2020.
- PurpleSec, “2021 Cyber Safety Statistics: The Final Listing Of Stats, Knowledge & Tendencies,” 2021.
Press Contacts
Scott Radcliffe
Apple
Fred Sainz
Apple
Apple Media Helpline
(408) 974-2042
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