Government issues high-risk warning for iPhone users: Here’s how to safeguard your devices immediately

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the nodal agency under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to deal with cybersecurity threats, has issued a security warning for iPhone users in the country.

The alert is regarding iPhone’s vulnerabilities to hacking. The government agency has suggested that if the vulnerabilities are not mitigated, hackers may get full control of the user's devices.

Apple users who are in danger

It is worth noting that the older models of the iPhone like the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 series, iPhone 8 series, and iPhone SE first-gen are susceptible to hacking.

Apple iPad users, including those with iPad Air, Pro, and Mini models, have been advised to download the latest version of iPadOS.

CERT-In has revealed that Apple’s iOS and iPadOS are at risk due to "improper state management" in issues in WebKit and "improper input validation" in the Kernel. The Kernel is the heart of an operating system, and WebKit is the core technology behind Apple's Safari browser.

As per the CERT-In, hackers can exploit these vulnerabilities, run their own code on the targeted devices, and potentially gain total control over them.

Due to the seriousness of these issues, the nodal agency has categorised its warning as having a "high" severity level.

How to update your iPhone

CERT-In’s warning comes days after the Cupertino-based tech giant started rolling out new iOS updates for iPhones.

Apple has addressed the security concerns via these new iOS updates.

Users can download iOS 15.7.7 update for iPhone 6s (all models), iPhone 7 (all models), iPhone SE (1st generation). Meanwhile, the iPadOS 15.7.7 update is available for iPad Air 2 and iPad mini (4th generation).

At the same time, Apple has released iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1 updates for iPhone 8 and later models, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 3rd generation and later models, and iPad mini 5th generation and later models. Users should immediately update their devices in order to safeguard them from hacking.

Here are the steps you can users can follow to update their devices:

Step 1 - Go to Settings

Step 2 – Tap on General

Step 3 – Tap on Software Update

Apple's response

Apple has taken proactive measures to address hacking concerns by releasing iOS updates, which specifically target the identified vulnerabilities. Apple has acknowledged that the security flaws in iPhones were first highlighted by Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab.