Apple Detects Pegasus Spyware in Only Half of Infected iPhones, Independent Study Finds

Apple’s Detection of Pegasus Spyware Limited

Apple has implemented measures in iOS to detect and notify users whose iPhones may be compromised by the dangerous Pegasus spyware, a surveillance tool that can take over an iPhone without user interaction and access personal data. Despite these efforts, recent findings from mobile security company iVerify highlight significant limitations. According to iVerify, Apple is currently only detecting about half of infected devices.

iOS Security Features

• Detection Code: iOS includes code designed to identify when a device has been compromised by spyware, even if the specific vulnerability is unknown.
• User Notifications: Apple notifies users it believes have been targeted by Pegasus and works to identify the security flaw exploited.
• Global Impact: In the summer of 2022, Apple sent warnings to iPhone users in nearly 100 countries, alerting them to potential infections.

iVerify’s Findings

• Scanning App: iVerify offers a $1 app that allows users to scan their phones for Pegasus and send results for analysis.
• Detection Rate: After analyzing scans from 18,000 devices, iVerify found an incidence rate of about 1.5 detections per 1,000 scans.
• User Diversity: The victims included individuals from various industries such as government, finance, logistics, and real estate, suggesting that the threat extends beyond high-value targets like politicians and activists.
• Apple Notifications: Only about half of the infected devices detected by iVerify had received Threat Notifications from Apple.

Implications

• Under-detection: The data suggests that many users may be unaware of their device’s compromise without third-party tools like iVerify.
• Ongoing Threat: Pegasus continues to pose a significant threat, with multiple variants and long-term monitoring of targets.