So, "Triangulation" is certainly an extremely dangerous type of attack, but not fundamentally new.

[tanjimajuha20]

Is the attack really fundamentally new?

This is not the first time that attacks like zero click have occurred. Multiple targeted attacks using the "product" were discovered back in 2016-2017.PegasusIsraeli company NSO Group. According to some reports, NSO Group spyware has been used to persecute human rights activists and journalists in various countries, used for state espionage, and to organize surveillance of Israeli citizens by the Israeli police. The spyware has full access to smartphone data, all telemetry, including location data, and can turn on the microphone and camera without the user's knowledge, and record calls. The Pegasus spyware is classified by Israel as a weapon, and any export of this technology requires government approval.

In 2019, WhatsApp discovered that a zero-day vulnerability had been used to exploit NSO software to deliver malware to more than 1,400 phones. Justby making a call on WhatsAppon the target device, it was possible to install the Pegasus malware on it, even if the user did not answer the call. As a result, a number of lawsuits have been filed against NSO in the US: WhatsApp did this in 2019, and a lawsuit was filed in 2021filedand Apple. In November 2021, the US india whatsapp resource Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security designated Israeli companies NSO Group and Candiru for engaging in activities contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests. The companies were designated for developing and supplying spyware to foreign governments that was used to spy on government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, scientists, and embassy employees.

The earliest version of Pegasus, discovered by researchers in 2016, infected phones via text messages or emails that prompted the user to click a malicious link. Newer versions of Pegasus used zero-click attacks, which required no interaction from the phone owner. In 2017, researchers also discovered a version of Pegasus for Android, with the spyware not being removed by a factory reset.

In 2021, a zero click attack on Apple devices was discovered using a vulnerability in iMessage, very similar to the Pegasus signature. A similar type of attack was also discovered on June 1, 2023 in Russia. In addition to Pegasus, there are other remote "hacking" tools for mobile devices that are used by governments and intelligence agencies.


And here it is important to compare threats and possible attack vectors for mobile operating systems iOS and Android.

How many more attack vectors does Android have compared to iOS?

As we have already discussed, virtually the only attack vector on Apple devices is through zero-day vulnerabilities that are exploited by attackers. Once such vulnerabilities are discovered, Apple promptly releases updates to its operating system and distributes them centrally.

Android, like any operating system, is vulnerable to zero click attacks, but in reality, there are many more attack vectors. Research has shown that devices running Android are infected with malware tens of times more often than iPhones.