iPhone flaw exploited by another Israeli spy company, agency says

A flaw in Apple’s software exploited by Israeli spy firm NSO Group to hack iPhones in 2021 was simultaneously taken advantage of by a rival company, according to five people familiar with the matter heard by Reuters.

QuaDream, the sources said, is an Israeli company that also develops smartphone hacking tools.

The two rivals achieved the same ability last year to remotely hack iPhones, according to the five sources, meaning they can both compromise Apple phones without users needing to click on a link, a feature known as “zero-click”. .

Analysts believe the capabilities of NSO and QuaDream were similar because they took advantage of many of the same vulnerabilities hidden in Apple’s instant messaging platform and used a comparable approach to deploying hacking software on their targets’ devices, according to three of the sources.

Reuters made repeated attempts to contact QuaDream. A Reuters journalist last week visited the QuaDream office in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, but no one received the report.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on QuaDream or say if there is any action the company plans to take toward the company.

Spy companies have long argued that they sell technology to help governments thwart national security threats. But human rights groups and journalists have repeatedly documented the use of their products to attack civil society, undermine political opposition and interfere in elections.

In November, NSO was placed on a US Commerce Department trade blacklist following the allegations.