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The Active-Exploits Edition Monday, July 19, 2021

Report: Active Zero-click iMessage Exploit In The Wild Targeting iPhones Running The Latest Software, Used Against Activists And Journalists, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

An explosive report from Amnesty International interpreted device logs to reveal the scope of targeted malware attacks in active use targeting Android and iPhone devices, since July 2014 and as recently as July 2021. Exploited devices can secretly transmit messages and photos stored on the phone, as well as record phone calls and secretly record from the microphone. The attack is sold by Israeli firm NSO Group as ‘Pegasus’.

[...]

Perhaps most alarming for iPhone users, the findings show that there are active exploits against iPhones running the latest iOS 14.6 software, including ones that take advantage of a zero-click vulnerability in iMessage that can install the spyware without any user interaction.

Despite The Hype, iPhone Security No Match For NSO Spyware, by Craig Timberg, Reed Albergotti and Elodie Guéguen, Washington Post

These kinds of “zero-click” attacks, as they are called within the surveillance industry, can work on even the newest generations of iPhones, after years of effort in which Apple attempted to close the door against unauthorized surveillance — and built marketing campaigns on assertions that it offers better privacy and security than rivals.

Stuff

This App Scans Washing Labels On Clothes And Tells You What They Mean, by Oliver Haslam, iMore

It's all pretty simple, really. Point your iPhone at the care label on your clothes and the app will tell you how to wash them. That's it. That's the app. And it's genius.

Review: Anker Debuts New PowerWave Go 3-in-1, Its Most Versatile Charging Stand Yet, by Blair Altland, 9to5Toys

Unlike other charging stations from the brand, the new Anker PowerWave Go stands out by packing a convertible design that can go from refueling gear at home to on-the-go.

Notes

How Spotify Has Changed Music Libraries Forever, by Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic

The music I’ve salvaged from earlier times is now part of my collection on Spotify, which I’ve been using since it launched in the United States, 10 years ago this month. But as I look back on the churn of the past couple of decades, I feel uneasy about the hundreds of playlists I’ve taken the time to compile on the company’s platform: 10 or 20 years from now, will I be able to access the music I care about today, and all the places, people, and times it evokes?

Unfortunately, the experts on media preservation and the music industry whom I consulted told me that I have good reason to fear ongoing instability. “You’re screwed,” said Brewster Kahle, the founder of the Internet Archive, after I asked him if I could count on having my music library decades from now.

Bottom of the Page

I don't have much of a music library, even back in the iPod + iTunes days. My iPods were mostly filled with podcasts and audiobooks. Nowadays, for non-spoken-words, I mostly listen to playlists 'curated' by Apple.

Which is my way of saying: I wish I've spent less money on CDs back in the days.

~

Thanks for reading.