HK’s privacy czar urges Apple users to update software on their devices ‘as soon as possible’ in light of spyware storm

Hong Kong’s privacy czar has raised fears about the exposed weakness of Apple’s operating system for its smartphone and tablets, after researchers found new malicious software that can be remotely installed to quietly turn an iPhone into a digital spy.

Analysts said the discovery of a “zero-day exploit” – a hole in the software that can be used by hackers before a fix is made – showed that no system, not even Apple’s closely guarded proprietary iOS mobile platform, was safe from cyber attacks.

In a statement, privacy commissioner Stephen Wong Kai-yi expressed his concern about the vulnerability “given the popularity of iOS devices in Hong Kong”.

Wong urged iPhone and iPad users in the city “to update the iOS software on their devices to the latest version as soon as possible in order to fix the loophole”.

Beset by the tyranny of hackers, iPhone users around the world have rushed to download Apple’s latest security update on Friday. User must tap into “software update” under their device’s general settings to manually get the fix, which is iOS 9.3.5.

While Apple was quick to release its security update, the news threatened to knock the wind out of the company’s sails, amid its rumoured launch of new iPhone models in the next few weeks.