Apple Company seeded its third beta test of the El Capitan OS X 10.11.2 to large numbers of public beta testers. (Photo : Reuters)
Apple has already fixed the "Pegasus" vulnerability on iOS and OS X devices but the mishap revealed the Israel-based NSO Group to be behind many of the hacking attempts for iPhones.
The NSO Group is reportedly responsible for selling hacks for their clients who want to hack iPhones and possibly other devices outside the iOS platform. They have been ironically hacked as well as the New York Times managed to get a hold of sensitive files and documents regarding their shady dealings with their clients.
Hacking iPhones is hard and it does not come cheap either. The NSO Group reportedly charges around $650,000 for ten iPhones hacked which does not include the $500,000 setup fee, Modern Readers has learned.
Organizations such as the NSO Group and even the so-called Hacking Team work under the shadows as their clients are mostly government officials and corporate executives. However, the Pegasus malware led to their discovery as they targeted the iPhone of a human rights activist in United Arab Emirates.
The NSO Group also reportedly targeted another activist that was writing about the corruption in the Mexican government. Hackers target the mobile phones through an SMS message that contains malicious code which installs malware on the device itself, Globes reported.
Once the malware is installed in the iPhone or any smartphone, the hackers can remotely access their files or even take control of the device itself. All of the monitoring is done even without the knowledge and consent of the user itself.
Since most of the clients are government officials, the Mexican government was the first suspect in the hacking of the activist's smartphone. However, a spokesman said that all of their contracts with such companies are done "in accordance with the law" which is still a vague statement as they did not confirm nor deny the accusations.
The NSO Group reportedly charges $500,000 for five BlackBerry users and $800,000 for 100 extra targets. It is a hefty price paid for governments or enterprises that want to get ahead of their competition or to silence those who speak against them through their words.
