Millions of iPhones are at risk from a new spyware – here’s what you need to do
Millions of iPhones are at risk from a new spyware – here’s what you need to do
Publish Date: 2026-03-20 11:14:00
Source Domain: www.theshortcut.com
(Credit: Apple)
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🚨 iPhone users still running iOS 18 should update their devices to avoid potential infection from new spyware
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🗡️ Known as DarkSword, the attack has been used by Russian and Chinese attackers on devices in Ukraine, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Malaysia so far
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😬 It works by a user clicking on a nefarious link on a spoofed website, and performs a digital hit-and-run on the data it wants before exiting
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👍 Apple has advised users on iOS 18.4 to 18.7 to update to iOS 26.3, where these vulnerabilities have been fixed
If you’re still running an iPhone with iOS 18 installed, then you’ll want to update your device as soon as possible to minimize the risk of some new spyware that’s been found.
As per Time, hundreds of millions of iPhones could be susceptible to hackers using a new malware tool known as DarkSword if their software hasn’t been recently updated.
The news comes after an investigation by Google and cybersecurity firms Lookout and iVerify found that hackers, mainly from China and Russia, have been using this DarkSword tool to extract information from iPhone users on certain older versions of iOS.
Researchers from the three firms observed DarkSword attacks that have targeted users in Ukraine, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Malaysia. They did not report any hacks on American targets so far.
DarkSword is an exploit chain type of attack, which works by a hacker using multiple software vulnerabilities to infiltrate a user’s device and pull information from it. The fact they’re combined exploits allow hackers to attack a device from multiple entry points, making them harder to defend against.
A report from the Google Threat Intelligence Group recently said that DarkSword uses “six different vulnerabilities to fully compromise a vulnerable iOS device.” To be specific, it’s using these vulnerabilities to gain higher-level permissions and privileges in the phone’s OS to access data.
Lookout found that the attack starts with the…
