YOU must update your iPhone as soon as possible – or risk being the victim of a hack attack.
Apple has issued an important security update that millions of iPhone owners need to install.
You need to update to at least iOS 16.1.2, although downloading the newer iOS 16.2 is preferable.
Apple has warned that a bug potentially allows hackers to take control of your device – and it may already have been exploited.
“Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution,” Apple explained.
“Apple is a ware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.1.”
The bug was actually uncovered by Clément Lecigne, who works for Google in its Threat Analysis Group.
Hackers prey on you by hoping you visit a malicious web-page, then using the bug to infiltrate your device.
But cyber-experts say updating your iPhone is the best course of action, because it totally prevents the hack.
“The news of these recently patched zero-day vulnerabilities in iOS should not be a surprise,” said Tom Davison, Senior Director at cyber-firm Lookout.
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“We have already seen several examples of this in 2022, with 15.3, 15.6.1, and 16.1 all introducing fixes to critical vulnerabilities alleged to have been exploited in the wild.
“There is a market for these flaws amongst sophisticated threat actors and more will certainly be discovered.
“Users should configure automatic iOS updates to stay protected.”
iPhone owners are repeatedly urged by cyber-experts and Apple to keep their devices updated.
Security patches are one of the best ways to stay safe against the latest hack attacks.
“Another day, another bug to fix,” said Travis Biehn, a senior cyber-expert at Synopsys.
“What’s great here is that Apple has invested in a way to ge critical updates into the field and onto folks’ devices.
“A well-practiced mechanism for getting fixes out to the field after a discovery is just as important as keeping those bugs out in the first place.”
Sadly, not all iPhone models can get the latest iOS 16 update.
Here’s a list of the all the supported devices:
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone Xs
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
If your iPhone is too old to be updated, you should consider upgrading as soon as possible.
Otherwise you may be in danger of hack attacks that your device can’t defend against.
It’s dangerous to use an unpatched device, so using up-to-date handsets is very important.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk