This iPhone hack needed zero clicks – and it spied on journalists
Recently, Apple patched a critical iPhone zero-day vulnerability. Reportedly, this vulnerability was quietly exploited, targeting journalists. Citizen Lab discovered the vulnerability. Basically, it allowed for Paragon's Graphite spyware to infiltrate iPhones via iMessage. The issue has been addressed in iOS 18.3.1. Back in April 2025, Apple notified a select group of iOS users (including two prominent journalists) that their devices had been targeted by spyware. Citizen Lab, which is a cybersecurity research group, confirmed the suspicions using forensic analysis. The investigation reportedly showed that a European journalist and an Italian journalist were targeted by surveillance firm Paragon. The spyware was reportedly installed via a zero-click attack in iMessage.
A "zero-click" attack basically requires no action to be taken by the victim. The malicious user sends a specific malicious message and it compromises the device. Luckily, Apple has patched this vulnerability with iOS 18 .3.1.
iOS is known for its security and privacy, but even iOS can fall victim to malicious users. | Image Credit – Apple Meanwhile, as Citizen Lab continued its analysis, it found that the exploited vulnerability was related to how iOS processed photos and videos sent via iCloud links. Another journalist has also been notified by Apple in January of this year about being targeted with Paragon's spyware. This could mean a broader pattern of attacks against journalists. So far, it seems only these specific people were targeted, and the vulnerability has been fixed by Apple already, so you generally have nothing to worry about. However, this incident clearly underlines the continuing fight between malicious users and companies.Apple is generally known for its privacy and security-centric approach, but even Apple can fall prey to the creativity and maliciousness of hackers. It's basically a cat-and-mouse game between device makers and hackers, and it's been like this since tech existed, pretty much. Although we as users can't do much in the grand scheme of things, it's important to update your device in a timely manner. When a security vulnerability has been discovered, usually companies release patches and updates to iron it out, so don't postpone or delay these when you see them waiting to be installed on your device.
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