Price of Apple iOS exploits falls below that of Android exploits for first time ever: Report

Apple’s iOS operating system has for long maintained a reputation for being far more secure than rival Android. Now, however, things appear to be changing. According to a report by ArsTechnica, exploit broker Zerodium is paying a higher price for zero-day “full chain” Android exploits than for iOS ones. At $2.5 mn for an Android exploit and $2 mn for iOS, these still aren’t cheap, but it’s the first time Android exploit prices have overtaken iOS exploit prices. Zero-day exploits target undisclosed vulnerabilities in an operating system or piece of software. They allow hackers, law enforcement and other agencies, even state-sponsored ones, access to a device at some level. [caption id=“attachment_7281711” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Apple’s iOS operating system has always had a reputation for being more secure than Android.[/caption] According to the Ars report, there’s recently been a surge in the number of zero-day iOS vulnerabilities being reported and this has resulted in a drop in price. These exploits appear to be targeting iOS’ Safari and iMessage, both staple features of the iOS operating system. Zero-click exploits are particularly valuable because they allow hackers to attack a phone with, essentially, zero manual intervention. Google Project Zero researchers only recently unveiled a large-scale and indiscriminate hacking attack targeting iPhones via malicious websites. **The attack was likely came from China and targeted the Uighur Muslim community.** Apple has already patched these vulnerabilities in the latest version of iOS.