A New Spyware Threat Associated with China May Have Caused Apple To Warn iPhone Users in India and Other Countries

A malicious piece of malware with purported ties to China may have been the origin of Apple’s most recent iPhone spyware warning notice. This month, the BlackBerry Threat Research and Intelligence Team revealed the specifics of the new threat, indicating that iPhone users in India and other South Asian nations could have been the intended targets of the malicious actors.

The security organization warns anybody who could be a target of these attackers that there is a good chance the spyware implant known as LightSpy is back in operation. Furthermore, the report dated April 11, 2024 notes that LightSpy may be connected to the spyware danger notice that Apple had sent without providing information about the source or kind of assault.

Trend Micro and Kaspersky security experts made the first discovery of the malware back in 2020. However, its purported reappearance in the media raises alarms for Apple, its clients, and the law enforcement organizations in various regions of the globe, where significant elections are scheduled for this year.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE LIGHTSPY SPYWARE THREAT FOR IPHONE USERS
Security experts believe that LighSpy is an iOS backdoor attack that was disseminated via the use of watering hole attacks, which are assaults that target users who visit prominent websites that have been compromised in order to get access to their mobile device or system.

According to the BlackBerry security organization, the most recent spyware assault would have been planned via news websites that the targeted users may have visited and infected, installing LightSpy on their device. This malware may often collect data such as contacts on your phone, SMS messages, your precise location, and audio bytes from VoIP conversations.

But the agency also notes that the most recent version of LightSpy found this month can also take files and data from well-known applications like WeChat, Telegram, the iCloud KeyChain data, and your browsing history from Chrome and Safari.

The main reason for worry over this new spyware threat is because, upon additional investigation into the implant’s source code, the BlackBerry Threat Intelligence team made hints about potential connections to China, raising the possibility of a state-sponsored assault on iPhone users using LightSpy’s new avatar. It said that “the targeting of people in Southern Asia, along with the attackers’ alleged Chinese ancestry, raises concerns about the potential motives and geopolitical implications of this campaign.”

BlackBerry’s security division disclosed this concerning information in a comprehensive report, saying, “The expanded capabilities of the malware, including extensive data exfiltration, audio surveillance, and potential full device control, pose a severe risk to targeted individuals and organizations in Southern Asia.”