Follow Gadgettendency, QuaDream – a small and little-known Israeli company – also develops a smartphone hacking tool for government customers. Last year, QuaDream, together with NSO Group, exploited a vulnerability in iPhones that could hack the product without the owner needing to open a malicious link.
According to one expert, the two companies’ use of the same sophisticated hacking technique shows that smartphones are indeed vulnerable to more powerful digital spying tools than the smartphone industry is aware of.
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QuaDream’s iPhone hack method is like NSO Group did afp |
Dave Aitel, an expert at cybersecurity firm Cordyceps Systems, said that many users believe they are safe, and smartphone companies want that, but it’s not.
Through hacks developed by NSO Group and QuaDream since last year, experts say the two companies have taken similar approaches. To gain unauthorized access to the data, they attacked certain vulnerabilities in the device’s software, hidden deep inside Apple’s instant messaging platform. Additionally, they used comparable methods to deliver malware to the targeted devices.
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QuaDream has yet to comment on the report, while an Apple spokesperson declined to comment.
Last November, Apple sued NSO Group, accusing the Israeli company of violating Apple’s user agreement. The case is still in the early stages. As for NSO, the company denies any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, unlike NSO, QuaDream has not attracted much attention even though its target is also government customers.
Like NSO’s Pegasus spyware, QuaDream’s flagship product called REIGN can take control of smartphones by collecting instant messages from services like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, as well as emails, photos, documents and contacts. REIGN premium features include “real-time call recording”, “camera trigger – front and back” and “microphone trigger”.
