Predator spyware has just made a mockery of the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple’s iPhone security claims.
The spyware can hide the green and orange privacy indicators that Apple added in 2020 with iOS 14 to show when the camera or microphone is in use.
BleepingComputer reports that European surveillance outfit Intellexa has updated Predator to disable those dots entirely, making it far easier to snoop without tipping off the target. Rather than popping a fresh hole in iOS, the spyware leans on previously obtained kernel-level access to pull it off.
Jamf researchers pulled apart recent samples and found Predator uses a single hook function inside SpringBoard, the core system app, to intercept sensor activity changes on iOS 14 and later. By catching those updates fast, it stops the UI ever showing that recording is happening, and it can also nullify both indicators at once.
Jamf security researchers said: “The technique outlined in this analysis requires a device to first be fully compromised, including kernel-level access to install hooks and the ability to inject code into system processes,” so the dots vanish only after the phone has already been properly owned.
Apple fanboys are less likely to be targeted because this sort of spyware tends to target CEOs, celebrities, politicians, and government officials. Even so, keeping iOS updated matters because these tools often exploit older, patched vulnerabilities to gain initial footholds.
The piece flags iVerify’s $1 Basics app for monthly checks that can detect Pegasus and sometimes other spyware strains. It notes that while there is no iOS equivalent of the best Android antivirus apps, some Mac security suites can scan an iPhone over USB, including Intego’s Mac antivirus.
If you open Camera or Voice Memos and the dots never show that silence might explain it.
