A new report from Bloomberg notes that UK-developed FinFisher spyware, originally developed for government and law enforcement use, is capable of taking control of an iPhone and other mobile devices. Researchers at the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs’ Citizen Lab discovered that FinFisher can secretly track a user’s location, monitor e-mails, text messages and calls, as well as turning on a device’s microphone.
An iPhone can become infected with the software when a user clicks on a malicious fake link. It’s presently unclear as to whether any iPhones are in fact infected; the report suggests that iPads may be susceptible, as well.
FinFisher was developed by Gamma Group, which markets a monitoring product called FinSpy Mobile to government and law enforcement agencies. Gamma has suggested that the software was somehow stolen from its sales demonstration server, and researchers have concluded that the spyware installs on iOS devices using a developer’s security certificate.
