Major security warning for Apple users: Indian watchdog flags security issues - Here’s how to stay secure

The government watchdog, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has issued a new security warning for Apple users in India. The security issue is significant as it impacts major Apple devices, including iPhones and Macs. 

The primary security vulnerability flagged by CERT-In encompasses Phones, iPads, MacBooks, as well as Apple Watch models. These vulnerabilities are reportedly being addressed through various updated versions of watchOS, visionOS, macO, iPadOS, Safari, and iOS. 

The government watchdog’s risk assessment highlights issues such as “high risk of information disclosure and denial of service”, which could lead to “potential unauthorised access to sensitive user information, denial of service, and data manipulation”. 

Affected devices include the following: 

• iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 18.1

• iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 17.7.1

• macOS Sequoia versions prior to 15.1

• macOS Sonoma versions prior to 14.7.1

• macOS Ventura versions prior to 13.7.1

• watchOS versions prior to 11.1

• tvOS versions prior to 18.1

• visionOS versions prior to 2.1

• Safari versions prior to 18.1

Apple users are advised to update their devices to the latest software versions. To check for the latest updates, users can: 

• Go to ‘Settings’

• Navigate to ‘General’

• Select ‘Software Update’

• Check for and install new versions available

In related developments, Apple released iOS and iPadOS 18.2 software updates in public beta, including new features like an AI emoji generator app, ChatGPT integration with Siri, and visual search using iPhone 16 camera sensors.

The latest Apple Intelligence features, available to developers earlier, are now in public beta. These include Genmoji and the Image Playground feature, both designed for generating pictures. Access to ChatGPT is free and doesn't require an account.

Additionally, the 'Image Playground' tool allows users to create new images via prompts, while Genmoji enables to create custom emojis in a similar way.