This iPhone hack can steal your data. Luckily, an update can fix it

If you’ve perused our list of the best smartphones, chances are you’re rocking an iPhone. But if you’ve been putting off that iPhone update, now would be a very good time to go ahead. 

Google, along with security companies Lookout and iVerify (via Engadget), has unveiled a worrying iPhone hacking technique called DarkSword that can be triggered when a vulnerable iPhone loads a compromised web page. 

According to the reports, the attack uses a malicious iframe embedded in a page, which is about as nasty as it sounds.

What makes this iPhone hack particularly grim is that it’s described as a fileless attack. Rather than dropping obvious malware onto your phone, it hijacks legitimate iPhone processes to pull sensitive data, then deletes evidence of its activity afterwards. That means there may be no dodgy app icon, no clear warning, and little sign that anything happened at all. All in all, it’s dangerously sophisticated, as far as malware goes.

• The best iOS 26 tricks I’ve found to power up your iPhone, updated for iOS 26.3

The risk isn’t universal, but it’s hardly tiny. DarkSword targets iOS 18 versions between 18.4 and 18.6.2, and Wired notes that around 24 per cent of iOS devices are still on iOS 18. That potentially leaves a sizeable number of iPhone owners exposed if they haven’t moved to a newer release.

As for the damage it can do, the list is rather ugly – messages, passwords, iCloud content, and even cryptocurrency wallets are all mentioned – and the latter in particular suggests that this wasn’t built just to snoop on the odd text message.

The reports also show that the tool has been linked to earlier hacking frameworks, and was reportedly used in several countries before its source code was exposed online.

There is good news, though. Apple has already patched the underlying exploits in newer iOS releases, including iOS 26 and iOS 26.4. The bad news is that updates only help if you’ve actually installed them.

So if your iPhone is still hanging around on an older iOS 18 build, this is your nudge to update it.

• Read more: This must-have Google update makes Gemini less chatty, and I couldn’t be happier

Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.