Following recent news that large numbers of Mac users have become victims of the Fruitfly surveillance malware, Apple has announced “critical” security updates for Mac, iPad and iPhone users after reports of a vicious Wi-Fi security threat started to emerge.
According to USA Today, both macOS and iOS devices are vulnerable to infections from Broadpwn, allowing hackers to compromise the data of users via a glitch in Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chipsets. Nitay Artenstein, a security researcher at Exodus Intelligence, uncovered the flaw, which makes it possible for hackers to “execute arbitrary code on the Wi-Fi chip” provided it is within range.
According to Fortune, this allows hackers to completely take control of your Mac device via the Wi-Fi chips that are built into its main processor.
Just to demonstrate how serious Mac users should take this: The National Vulnerability Database, which forms part of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) rated Broadpwn as “critical” — measuring 9.8 on a scale of 1 to 10.
The good news is that Apple has released a solution over the weekend. The company urged Mac, iPad and iPhone users to download the updates without any delay in order to protect their privacy and security.
Readers who own a Mac should simply click on the Updates tab inside the Mac Apple Store and then proceed to install version 10.12.6 — the latest macOS Sierra update.
Those who own iPads, iPhones and similar mobile devices should download the newest iOS update. To install iOS 10.3.3, simply go to Settings, select General and then Software Update. Click to install.
Earlier this month, Google was forced to issue its own security update for Android devices after it became known that its Android operating system could be susceptible to Broadpwn infections.