Apple Pushes Security Fixes in New iOS Update

Apple has announced massive security fixes in new iOS 12.2.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Mar 28, 2019

Apple has announced its newest update to the popular operating system that includes massive fixes to several security issues. Of the 51 security patches in the update, the most notable is a fix for a flaw that could allow malicious applications to access the microphone on your iPhone and record you and those around you.

There were several more security flaws to fix in iOS 12.2 however—51 to be exact.

The company also fixed issues with the FaceTime app and Messages. One of the updates repaired a vulnerability that allowed FaceTime to continue to record after the user had left the app, an action that usually pauses the camera's live recording.

Another fix closed a loophole that allowed users to access sensitive information in the Messages app and websites visited through Safari to see information from their phone's light and motion sensors.

Those are just a few of the now updated security flaws. Other upgrades dealt with phone memory and SMS hacking. Some of the patches impact devices other than the iPhone, such as laptops and iPads.

It's not unusual for Apple to fix security issues in a software update. The phone's previous operating system, 12.1.4, was released in February following the discovery of a bug in FaceTime that allowed the camera and microphones of iPhones to be access without the user's permission.