If you’re an iPhone user who hasn’t upgraded from iOS 18, this is your cue. Researchers from Google along with teams from iVerify and Lookout have discovered a technique that can hack iPhones running the software if they just visit the wrong website.
Known as DarkSword, the vulnerability allows malicious actors to instantly and silently hack any device that visits an infected website as long as it operates on iOS 18. That version of Apple’s iPhone operating software was released in 2024 and is still in use on about a quarter of iPhones, according to Apple’s data. “A vast number of iOS users could have all of their personal data stolen simply for visiting a popular website,” said iVerify co-founder and CEO Rocky Cole.
The DarkSword vulnerability has reportedly been used in Russian spy campaigns and by hackers targeting people’s devices in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Malaysia. A spokesperson from Apple told WIRED that the company has released emergency updates for devices running the older software to protect against DarkSword. The latest version, iOS 26, is not affected.
