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

While they provide illuminating details about 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 your 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 the owner’s 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”. No jailbreak, no FinSpy on your iPhone, at least according to a leaked Gamma document dated April 2014.

Read the Full Article: Source – Stuff
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/60625617/why-surveillance-companies-hate-the-iphone

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