“DarkSword appears to be a surveillance and intelligence gathering tool, blanket pulling data including Wi-Fi passwords, text messages, call history, root location history, browser history, SIM card and cellular data as well as health, notes and calendar databases, though it does also look for crypto wallets,” iVerify said in a news release on Wednesday.
It has been used since “at least” November 2025 by “multiple commercial surveillance vendors and suspected state-sponsored actors” to exploit millions of targets, according to Google.
Which iPhones could be at risk?
iPhones operating on iOS versions 18.4 to 18.7 are potentially vulnerable to hacks using DarkSword, according to researchers.
That includes an estimated 270 million devices around the world, iVerify said.
How can you protect your phone?
Apple highlighted a support page published on Thursday to TIME that instructs users on how to protect their iPhones from web attacks.
