Government Hackers Targeted iPhone Zero Days Using Startup Variston's Spyware

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Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) said that government hackers last year exploited three unknown vulnerabilities in Apple’s iPhone operating system to target victims with spyware developed by a European startup, Barcelona-based Variston.

TAG analyzed several government campaigns conducted with hacking tools developed by several spyware and exploit sellers, including Variston. Government hackers took advantage of three iPhone “zero-days,” which were vulnerabilities not known to Apple when they were exploited. In this case, the hacking tools were developed by Variston, a surveillance and hacking technology startup whose malware has already been analyzed twice by Go…