Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago

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Lets get all the important points out first; who does this hack affect? Well, all iPhone users using the latest iOS version 14. Who should be most worried? If you have annoyed any big government, then you should really be worried: this list also includes heads of state, activists, journalists, and lawyers around the world. How bad is the hack? It’s really really bad; Finally, how to mitigate: for this particular issue, the only option right now is to disable iMessage and FaceTime on your iOS devices.

This exploit is dubbed “Megalodon” by Amnesty International and “ForcedEntry” by Citizen Lab.

According to Apple, attacks such as the ones described by Citizen Lab are highly targeted and thus nothing to worry about - yeah, sure. Go back to bed citizen.

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Table of contents
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0:00 - Introduction
1:04 - Usual infiltrate method (one-click exploit)
2:41 - zero-click exploit
3:36 - End-to-end encryption
4:29 - NSO group and flagship product Pegasus
6:48 - Reported use of Pegasus
7:06 - Bahraini government and brutal repression of dissent
9:46 - Apple's BlastDoor
12:08 - iOS 14.7.1 failure?


References:
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threatpost.com/pegasus-spyware-uses-iphone-zero-click-imessage-zero-day/168899
citizenlab.ca/2021/08/bahrain-hacks-activists-with-nso-group-zero-click-iphone-exploits
threatpost.com/apple-ios-imessage-blastdoor/163479
theconversation.com/what-is-pegasus-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-how-the-spyware-invades-phones-and-what-it-does-when-it-gets-in-165382