Reports released on Wednesday highlighted the emergence of a new hacking tool known as DarkSword, which poses a threat to iPhone users. In response, Apple has confirmed that vulnerabilities exploited by this spyware were addressed last year through patches for iOS.
On March 11, Apple issued an emergency software update for iOS 15 and iOS 16 to protect older devices unable to upgrade to the latest versions. Users of iOS 15 and above are safeguarded from DarkSword, while those on iOS 13 or iOS 14 must upgrade to iOS 15 to ensure similar protection. Alerts for a Critical Security Update will be sent to users of the older systems in the coming days.
Additionally, Apple noted that its Lockdown Mode feature effectively blocks DarkSword attacks, and users of the iPhone 17 benefit from enhanced defenses via the Memory Integrity Enforcement feature. Google, along with cybersecurity firms Lookout and iVerify, has also issued findings about DarkSword, revealing that it can be activated merely by visiting a compromised site, without any need for users to download malicious files.