We talked about this in our column a few weeks ago. At the end of April 2023, Microsoft released a new version of the Windows Phone Link app. Since then, iPhone owners can finally use the app to: Enjoy iMessage directly on Windows computers.
So they can specifically make and receive calls, reading and replying to text messagesor see notifications and Access iOS contact lists from their computer. It is therefore a very practical tool and has been available to all Windows 11 users since mid-May.
However, there is a big problem. As the computer security researchers at Certo Software explain, This new version of the app allows hackers to spy on iPhone owners. Faced with a proliferation of offensive statements, the firm decided to conduct an investigation.
Phone Link for iOS is an open door to hackers
In short, these experts believe that hackers who successfully gain physical access to their victims’ iPhone, then install Phone Link on their Windows PC. This is done, they can do it quietly spy on received text messages and sent via iMessage with the phone call history without the victim’s knowledge.
According to Certo Software, the task remains relatively “simple” for the hacker (in theory anyway). actually enough get an iPhone for a few seconds Later Scan the QR Code offered by Phone Link on your computer to establish a fast Bluetooth connection. From there, you just need to activate a few options on the phone to start sharing information with your PC.
In addition to being able to view your messages, The attacker can also see the content of all notifications.. Some may contain sensitive data, such as notifications from your banking apps. And even more alarmingly, it turned out that the victim clearly couldn’t see their messages/notifications being shared on another computer.
How to protect against Phone Link hack for iOS?
However, to drive away the unwanted, it is enough to follow the procedure below:
- First of all, it will be necessary to access the Bluetooth settings.
- Then go to the My Devices tab. Here you will find the complete list of devices connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth.
- Now search any device with Show notifications or Share system notifications enabled
- Tap Forget This Device to unpair it
As a reminder, new vulnerabilities have recently been discovered within Microsoft Teams. They make it possible to collect your personal data after it has been abused.
