Recently, CEO of cryptocurrency trading firm Binance, Changpeng Zhao, helped spread the alarm about iPhones.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently contributed to solving an urgent issue regarding iPhone users. Apple’s flagship device owners were for some time exposed to hacker attacks due to a vulnerability.
Spyware research organization Citizen Lab was responsible for discovering the vulnerability and notifying Apple. Basically, the zero-click, zero-day technique was hidden in the computers’ software without the parent company realizing it.
Immediately, the manufacturer released a security update to patch the two vulnerabilities that would have been highly costly for users. It would have allowed criminals to extract numerous personal data, as well as to access bank accounts and cryptocurrency funds.
Binance CEO Leveraged His Influence
For the CEO of Binance, this was a very serious issue that could affect iPhone users who own digital currencies, and therefore, he contributed to solving the matter. Thus, the businessman took advantage of his influence to ask the owners of these mobile phones to update them immediately.
“The Apple iOS/iPadOS 16.6.1 updates today include a security patch to an iMessage vulnerability that allows remote code execution WITHOUT ANY INTERACTIONS from the victim. It is being exploited in the wild by the Pegasus threat group already. Update immediately,” Zhao wrote on his X account.
This breach technique is executed through the Pegasus software developed by NSO Group. The latter is an Israeli intelligence firm that developed the program to spy on people’s phones in search of enemies of the state. Either way, the Pegasus is now a weapon in the hands of hackers.
With this vulnerability, victimized users do not have to do anything. The software automatically works to extract any type of information from the computers, which would have helped criminals extract cryptocurrencies, among other belongings, from users. Hence, the CEO of Binance was quick to warn about the dangers of the software.
“Once again, civil society is serving as a cybersecurity early warning system for billions of devices around the world,” John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, posted on X (Twitter). “Including you, if you’re reading this on your iPhone. Or Mac.”
Apple Surrounded by Problems
The problems surrounding Cupertino’s company are becoming more and more persistent. Its shares’ performance on the stock market is not the best in recent weeks. Since the beginning of August, problems began. Consequently, from $195.61 per share on August 1, the price is now $179.75, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
The state of massive shares sell-off occurs just before the release of the new iPhone model, scheduled for September 12. Shares are expected to take a breather during today’s trading as a result of the announcement.
Among the reasons that affect the company’s actions, the recent blows from China should not be overlooked. The Huawei company, despite the sanctions, launched a new high-generation mobile model (Mate 60 Pro) with a 5-nanometer chip developed by local companies. This means that the firm will be able to break the sanctions and return strongly as a serious competitor to Apple in the Chinese market.
Chinese authorities reinforce the ban on iPhones among government employees. Added to this is the recent vulnerability that the CEO of Binance warned about. Taken as a whole, these are complex times for the most valuable company in the world.
By Audy Castaneda
