Apple iPhone users are being urged to update their devices to iOS 18.2 or else they may be at risk of cyberattacks, leaving their personal data vulnerable to hackers who could exploit security flaws.
The warning comes after cybersecurity firm Jamf Threat Labs identified a bug in both the iPhone and Mac operating systems that allows hackers to access sensitive data without the users knowledge.
"Jamf Threat Labs has discovered a bypass vulnerability in the Transparency, Consent and Control (TCC) subsystem in iOS that fails to notify users when another application tries to access sensitive information such as photos, GPS location, contacts and more," the firm explained in a blog post.
Typically, the TCC would prompt a user to grant or deny requests from individual apps to access sensitive data. The bug identified by Jamf Threat Labs "allows apps to sidestep these TCC controls and access user data without any notification."
"Alarmingly, this exploitation occurs without leaving any trace of the data accessed, posing a threat to user privacy and overall data security," the firm added.
That means hackers could potentially access and copy a wide range of your personal data, files and folders, health data, microphone, camera and more. What's worse, they could do this completely unnoticed, without leaving any trace of their activity, putting your privacy and security in danger.
The good news is that Jamf Threat Labs reported the threat to Apple, which quickly patched the bug in an update for iOS 18 and macOS 15.
The best way to protect yourself and your data is to update to the latest iOS version.
To update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS, Open the "Settings" app, scroll down and tap on "General," then tap on "Software Update." If an update is available, tap "Download and Install." Once the update is complete, your iPhone will be running the latest version of iOS.