Earlier in March, Apple started issuing a public security warning to users running out-of-date versions of iOS on their iPhones. It’s now pushing alerts to the lock screens of vulnerable devices.
The alert is labelled as a “Critical Software” update, and urges users to get their phones patched to protect against “attacks targeting out-of-date iOS software, including the version on your iPhone”.
By attacks, it means fraudulent and compromising web links created through the exploit kits Coruna and DarkSword. These could put iPhones at risk.
iPhones running iOS 13 up to iOS 17.2.1 are at risk of such exploits. The same applies to the equivalent iPadOS versions. Apple has already delivered security patches for users to install to guard against these attacks.
To protect your iPhone from attacks, update your phone by tapping General > Software Update in Settings. All versions of iOS from iOS 15 onwards are now protected against these threats and will block access to the malicious links that have been identified.
For iOS 13 or iOS 14 users, they need to update to at least iOS 15 to escape the attacks. iOS 15 rolled out with the iPhone 6S, when it launched in 2015. You’ll only be affected if you have iPhones about a decade old.
If your iPhone is still older than the 2015 iPhone 6S, buying a new iPhone may be better. It’s a better option than being vulnerable to the attacks with no solution in sight for fixing it.
If you try updating your iPhone and it just doesn’t work, Apple has provided Lockdown Mode for you to keep your device safe. It’s a secure iOS configuration that adds extra protections, but it’s only available on iOS 16 and later.
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