Apple launches iPhone security tool to block targeted attacks

Apple said the feature is aimed primarily at trying to combat attacks from “spyware” sold by NSO Group and other companies, particularly to state-sponsored groups. — Reuters

Apple Inc introduced a security tool for iPhone, iPad and Mac devices that is designed to prevent targeted cyberattacks on high-profile users such as activists, journalists and government officials.

The optional feature, called Lockdown Mode, will offer “extreme” protection for a “very small number of users who face grave, targeted attacks,” Apple said Wednesday in a statement. The tool vastly reduces the number of physical and digital ways for an attacker to hack a user’s device. Apple said the feature is aimed primarily at trying to combat attacks from “spyware” sold by NSO Group and other companies, particularly to state-sponsored groups.