How Democratizing Threat Hunting is Changing Mobile Security
Summary:
In December 2024, 18,000 devices were scanned using an application developed by iVerify, which leverages signature-based detection, heuristic analysis, and machine learning to identify Pegasus artifacts. Pegasus, a notorious spyware developed by Israel's NSO Group, has previously been used to target journalists and activists. The scan revealed a total of 11 Pegasus infections, with iVerify noting that these detections were linked to known variants of the spyware from 2021 to 2023. The victims of these intrusions were predominantly executives in the private sector, specifically within industries such as finance, logistics, and real estate, with iVerify observing that these individuals had been monitored for extended periods.
Security Officer Comments:
The shift toward targeting the private sector, particularly high-level executives in industries such as finance, logistics, and real estate, signals a broader trend of attackers seeking to gain access to valuable corporate and strategic information. These sectors are rich with sensitive data, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, customer information, and major financial transactions, which can provide significant advantages in competitive markets or be leveraged for various forms of economic espionage. Moreover, many of these industries play a critical role in global supply chains and infrastructure, making them not only highly profitable targets but also strategically important for geopolitical or financial motivations.
Suggested Corrections:
According to iVerify, Apple’s Lockdown Mode— a security mechanism designed to block known exploit vectors—failed to prevent infections in 5 of the 11 cases, highlighting the spyware’s ability to adapt and bypass security measures. Pegasus infections often exploit known vulnerabilities or, in some cases, zero-day flaws for initial access. To mitigate such risks, both organizations and individuals must ensure that their devices are promptly updated with the latest patches to prevent attackers from exploiting such vulnerabilities. Additionally, implementing robust endpoint security and data loss prevention solutions is crucial in safeguarding against these types of threats.
Link(s):
https://iverify.io/blog/how-democratizing-threat-hunting-is-changing-mobile-security
In December 2024, 18,000 devices were scanned using an application developed by iVerify, which leverages signature-based detection, heuristic analysis, and machine learning to identify Pegasus artifacts. Pegasus, a notorious spyware developed by Israel's NSO Group, has previously been used to target journalists and activists. The scan revealed a total of 11 Pegasus infections, with iVerify noting that these detections were linked to known variants of the spyware from 2021 to 2023. The victims of these intrusions were predominantly executives in the private sector, specifically within industries such as finance, logistics, and real estate, with iVerify observing that these individuals had been monitored for extended periods.
Security Officer Comments:
The shift toward targeting the private sector, particularly high-level executives in industries such as finance, logistics, and real estate, signals a broader trend of attackers seeking to gain access to valuable corporate and strategic information. These sectors are rich with sensitive data, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, customer information, and major financial transactions, which can provide significant advantages in competitive markets or be leveraged for various forms of economic espionage. Moreover, many of these industries play a critical role in global supply chains and infrastructure, making them not only highly profitable targets but also strategically important for geopolitical or financial motivations.
Suggested Corrections:
According to iVerify, Apple’s Lockdown Mode— a security mechanism designed to block known exploit vectors—failed to prevent infections in 5 of the 11 cases, highlighting the spyware’s ability to adapt and bypass security measures. Pegasus infections often exploit known vulnerabilities or, in some cases, zero-day flaws for initial access. To mitigate such risks, both organizations and individuals must ensure that their devices are promptly updated with the latest patches to prevent attackers from exploiting such vulnerabilities. Additionally, implementing robust endpoint security and data loss prevention solutions is crucial in safeguarding against these types of threats.
Link(s):
https://iverify.io/blog/how-democratizing-threat-hunting-is-changing-mobile-security