Apple Puts FaceTime Offline After Discovery of Spy Bug
The company is rushing to fix a problem that could let other iPhone users hear you and see you before answering the call.
According to a 9to5Mac report, Apple has promised to release a software update later in the week to fix a serious bug in its FaceTime audio and video call application, which could easily be exploited to spy on people.
It's after another report on the site revealed Monday that the problem allows any iPhone user to call another iPhone user's video via FaceTime and listen to audio from the other end - before the recipient accepted or rejected the incoming call.
How it works? In short, the caller initiates a FaceTime call and immediately starts the application's bulk call function by pressing Add Person and adding his own phone number. That's all it takes to make FaceTime believe that the recipient has just answered the "conference call", which allows the caller to hear the sound from the other end - unbeknownst to the victim.
Meanwhile, on the screen of the victim's device, it seems that the phone still rings with the FaceTime request.
That's not all. While it was thought for the first time that "only" audio could be exposed, BuzzFeed News later wrote that the bug could apparently also expose the video camera from the front of the recipient's handset. If the recipient quits or mutes the incoming FaceTime conference call by pressing the power button or one of the volume control buttons, the handset also starts sending live video. Again, this occurs with zero consciousness on the part of the victim.
This "hack", so simple as to be weird, can also be used during a FaceTime call from an iPhone to a Mac computer. According to CNN, the bug affects iPhones and iPads under iOS 12.1, which introduced the FaceTime group, but also has an impact on computers running macOS Mojave.
The problem caught the attention of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who described the virus as a "gross violation of privacy."
The Verge reports that the deactivation of Group FaceTime by Apple has largely solved the problem during the software update. If that does not solve the problem, you can disable the app until Apple provides the update.
According to a 9to5Mac report, Apple has promised to release a software update later in the week to fix a serious bug in its FaceTime audio and video call application, which could easily be exploited to spy on people.
It's after another report on the site revealed Monday that the problem allows any iPhone user to call another iPhone user's video via FaceTime and listen to audio from the other end - before the recipient accepted or rejected the incoming call.
How it works? In short, the caller initiates a FaceTime call and immediately starts the application's bulk call function by pressing Add Person and adding his own phone number. That's all it takes to make FaceTime believe that the recipient has just answered the "conference call", which allows the caller to hear the sound from the other end - unbeknownst to the victim.
Meanwhile, on the screen of the victim's device, it seems that the phone still rings with the FaceTime request.
That's not all. While it was thought for the first time that "only" audio could be exposed, BuzzFeed News later wrote that the bug could apparently also expose the video camera from the front of the recipient's handset. If the recipient quits or mutes the incoming FaceTime conference call by pressing the power button or one of the volume control buttons, the handset also starts sending live video. Again, this occurs with zero consciousness on the part of the victim.
This "hack", so simple as to be weird, can also be used during a FaceTime call from an iPhone to a Mac computer. According to CNN, the bug affects iPhones and iPads under iOS 12.1, which introduced the FaceTime group, but also has an impact on computers running macOS Mojave.
The problem caught the attention of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who described the virus as a "gross violation of privacy."
The Verge reports that the deactivation of Group FaceTime by Apple has largely solved the problem during the software update. If that does not solve the problem, you can disable the app until Apple provides the update.
Apple Puts FaceTime Offline After Discovery of Spy Bug
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Reviewed by petitbicasos
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7:46 PM
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