Centre issues ‘serious’ warning to iPhone users, flags ‘multiple vulnerabilities’ in Apple products

The central government has flagged “multiple vulnerabilities” in Apple products like iPhones, iPads and others in its latest advisory that could lead to spoofing or leakage of confidential information from the device. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued an alert on its official platform, tagging the issue as “very serious”.

Center warns against Apple products (AP)(AP)

The August 2 CERT advisory states: “Multiple security vulnerabilities have been reported in Apple products that could allow an attacker to access sensitive information, execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, cause a denial of service (DoS), and conduct spoofing attacks on a targeted system.”

The central agency has marked these vulnerabilities in Apple software, including versions of iOS and iPadOS before 17.6 and 16.7.9, versions of macOS Sonoma before 14.6, versions of macOS Ventura before 13.6.8, versions of macOS Monterey before 12.7.6, versions of watchOS before 10.6, versions of tvOS before 17.6, versions of visionOS before 1.3, and versions of the Safari browser before 17.6.

CERT has asked Apple users to apply the necessary software updates listed by the company to avoid any high-level threats. Apple has not yet confirmed any security risk from them.

Apple released its latest security updates last week, and the latest software versions can be found on its official website.

In May of this year, CERT issued a similar warning to iPhone and Apple users, signaling a high risk. The agency said hackers could exploit these vulnerabilities to gain higher access to devices, bypass security restrictions, expose sensitive information, or even take complete control of the device.

All users are instructed to regularly monitor all relevant communications from Apple and review all warnings. Exercise caution when accessing and interacting with potentially malicious sites, links, or files, and stay current with all security updates.

By keeping your passwords safe and backing up your data regularly, you will increase the security of your Apple device.