Apple's iPhone more hack-proof than Android, Gamma Group reports in leaked document

The secrets of one of the world's most prominent surveillance companies, Gamma Group, spilled on to the internet last week, thanks to an anonymous leaker who appears to have gained access to sensitive corporate documents.

And while they provide details of the capabilities of Gamma's many spy tools, perhaps the most surprising revelation is about something the company is unable to do. It can't hack into the typical iPhone.

Android phones, some Blackberries and phones running older Microsoft operating systems all are vulnerable to Gamma's spyware, called FinSpy, which can turn a smartphone into a potent surveillance device.

Users of the spyware are capable of listening to calls on targeted devices, stealing contacts, activating the microphone, tracking user location and more. But for FinSpy to hack into an iPhone, the phone's owner must have already stripped away much of its built-in security through a process called "jailbreaking".

This is good news for people with iPhones, and perhaps for Apple as well. But at a time of rising concern about government surveillance powers, it is ironic that Google's Android operating system has emerged as the global standard, with a dominant share of the world market.

Android phones have more features, and come in more shapes, sizes and colours. And they are cheaper.