iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices face security threat: Govt

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) has issued warning to all users of Apple products such as iPhones, iPads and Macs about security vulnerabilities in the Operating Systems (OS) of these devices. The government body, which functions within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), cautions that the security flaws present in the OS are of “High” severity, and allow hackers to access sensitive and personal information stored in devices.

THE WARNING

“Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Apple products, which could allow an attacker to access sensitive information, execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, cause denial of service (DoS) conditions, bypass authentication, gain elevated privileges and perform spoofing attacks on the targeted system,” the CERT-In warning informs.

OS VERSIONS IN DANGER

According to CERT-In, the following OS versions are in danger of being hacked:

• iOS: Versions older than 18 and 17.7
• iPadOS: Versions older than 18 and 17.7
• Safari: Versions older than 18
• watchOS: Versions older than 11
• macOS Sequoia: Versions older than 15
• macOS Sonoma: Versions older than 14.7
• macOS Ventura: Versions older than 13.7
• tvOS: Versions older than 18
• Xcode: Versions older than 16
• visionOS: Versions older than 2

THE THREAT

Security vulnerabilities in the above-mentioned OS can give hackers access to sensitive information people often store in their devices, including password, bank details and addresses. Hackers gaining entry into operating systems can bypass security restrictions and then block services from being executed by the system.

WHAT USERS MUST DO

Apple has started unveiling the latest versions of its array of OS that contain fixes for the security flaws posing a threat. Users are being advised to immediately download the updated OS as necessary for their respective devices.