New Apple iOS 16 Exploit Enables Stealthy Cellular Access Under Fake Airplane Mode
Cybersecurity researchers have documented a novel post-exploit persistence technique on iOS 16 that could be abused to fly under the radar and maintain access to an Apple device even when the victim believes it is offline. The method "tricks the victim into thinking their device's Airplane Mode works when in reality the attacker (following successful device exploit) has planted an artificial Airplane Mode which edits the UI to display Airplane Mode icon and cuts internet connection to all apps except the attacker application," Jamf Threat Labs researchers Hu Ke and Nir Avraham said in a report shared with The Hacker News. Airplane Mode , as the name implies, allows users to turn off wireless features in their devices, effectively preventing them from connecting to Wi-Fi networks, cellular data, and Bluetooth as well as sending or receiving calls and text messages. The approach devised by Jamf, in a nutshell, provides an illusion to the user that the Airplane Mode is on