{"id":226273,"date":"2026-03-22T04:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/google-and-security-companies-have-warned-iphone-users-of-darksword-spy-attack-what-it-is-and-how-it-may-spy-on-iphone-users\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T05:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T09:40:22","slug":"google-and-security-companies-have-warned-iphone-users-of-darksword-spy-attack-what-it-is-and-how-it-may-spy-on-iphone-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/google-and-security-companies-have-warned-iphone-users-of-darksword-spy-attack-what-it-is-and-how-it-may-spy-on-iphone-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Google and security companies have warned iPhone users of DarkSword spy attack: What it is and how it may spy on iPhone users"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google and security companies have warned iPhone users of DarkSword spy attack: What it is and how it may spy on iPhone users<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/technology\/tech-news\/google-and-security-companies-have-warned-iphone-users-of-darksword-spy-attack-what-it-is-and-how-it-may-spy-on-iphone-users\/articleshow\/129725037.cms<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-22 04:59:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: timesofindia.indiatimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

AI generated image for representation<\/span> Google and other cybersecurity companies, including iVerify and Lookout, have identified a new iPhone hacking technique. This new spyware, known as DarkSword, can silently compromise devices simply by visiting an infected website, cybersecurity researchers have warned. The attack targets iPhones running older versions of iOS 18, which can extract sensitive personal data within minutes, raising concerns about the exposure of millions of users who have not updated their devices.Researchers say the technique has already been used in multiple espionage campaigns and cybercrime operations across regions such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. While Apple has released security updates to mitigate the threat, experts warn that a significant number of users remain vulnerable. \u201cA vast number of iOS users could have all of their personal data stolen simply for visiting a popular website. Hundreds of millions of people who are still using older Apple devices or older operating system versions remain vulnerable,\u201d<\/span> Rocky Cole, iVerify’s cofounder and CEO, told Wired.<\/p>\n

What is DarkSword spyware and how does it work
<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

DarkSword is a web-based iPhone exploitation technique that allows attackers to gain access to a device without requiring users to download an app or click on suspicious links. Instead, it is embedded in otherwise legitimate websites, such as news portals or government pages, and activates when a vulnerable iPhone visits the site.Unlike traditional spyware, DarkSword uses a \u201cfileless\u201d <\/span>approach. It leverages legitimate iOS system processes to access and extract data, making it harder to detect. \u201cInstead of using a spyware payload to brute force your way through the file system\u2014which leaves tons of artifacts of exploitation that are pretty easy to detect\u2014this just uses system processes the way they’re meant to be used. And it leaves far fewer traces,\u201d<\/span> Cole told Wired.The attack follows a
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Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google and security companies have warned iPhone users of DarkSword spy attack: What it is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":226274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-129725055,width-1280,height-720,imgsize-100284,resizemode-6,overlay-toi_sw,pt-32,y_pad-600\/photo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[69,95,57,61],"class_list":["post-226273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iphone","tag-ios","tag-ios-18","tag-security","tag-security-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226273"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226275,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226273\/revisions\/226275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}