Apple IMessage Can Alert if State Hacker Is Spying On Conversation

• Apple’s new iMessage feature, Apple claims, can notify people if their conversations are being monitored.
• It is available to those who “face extraordinary cyber threats”, such as journalists and politicians.
• Both parties in the conversation need to have the feature enabled to receive an alert if there is a breach.

Apple said its new iMessage Contact Key Verification feature can notify people if their conversation is being breached by a state-sponsored hacker — but it only works if both people have it enabled.

Apple announced that iMessage will be available for “extraordinary digital threats” such as journalists, human right activists, and politicians. in a press release. 

iMessages between people who have enabled the feature will receive an alert “if a highly advanced adversary such as a state sponsored attacker were ever to succeed in breaching cloud servers, inserting their device to eavesdrop and stealing encrypted communications.”

The feature is only available to iMessage users, and it can only be used if both of them have it enabled. Signal and WhatsApp are cross platform alternatives that offer end to end encrypted messaging.

Apple stated that people can use FaceTime to compare a Contact Verification Code or make a secure call to confirm their conversations.

Apple noted that it’s not newIt was a pioneer in the security game as it “pioneered end-to-end encryption using iMessage, which allows messages to only be read by the sender and their receivers.

Despite this, iMessage customers have been the targets before of spyware. Apple sued spyware firm NSO GroupQ Cyber Technologies, its parent company, last November, claimed that the company’s Pegasus tool was used by journalists, activists, and other people who were using Apple products.

Apple in July announced its new ‘Lockdown Mode’Option that can also be used to protect users who may be at risk from “sophisticated cyber threats,” which could include those coming from “private companies creating state-sponsored spyware.”

Apple also released two additional security features, Security Keys for Apple ID (and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud)