Jeff Bezos’ hacked iPhone had Apple’s vaunted security, and that may have helped its alleged hackers

A security report last week alleged that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos received a WhatsApp message laden with code that secretly hacked and snatched reams of personal data from his iPhone X. The message allegedly came from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.

Reed Albergotti, Craig Timberg, and Jay Greene for The Washington Post:

Security researchers say Bezos probably fell victim to the iPhone’s Achilles’ heel: Its defenses are so difficult to penetrate that once sophisticated attackers are in, they can go largely undetected. “A lot of Apple security is amazing and really benefits the average user, but once you’re a target of an advanced adversary or three letter agency, the advanced security of these devices can be used against you,” says Patrick Wardle, who worked for the National Security Agency and is now principal security researcher for Minneapolis-based software maker Jamf…

Apple recently announced changes to its bug bounty program, upping the maximum reward to $1.5 million. It also announced it would distribute special phones to security researchers that allow deeper access to the operating system…

Apple’s efforts to make it more difficult to penetrate its operating system may have helped reduce the number of bugs found on iOS, but it has also helped push some of that research underground… Meanwhile, a black market for iPhone bugs has flourished, researchers say, with companies springing up to offer hacking services to the government or, in some cases, anyone willing to pay.

MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, Apple’s bug bounty program’s expansion will lead Apple to finding what must amount to a relative handful of very sophisticated exploits and eliminating them forever, starting with closing off whatever insecurity is obviously present in Facebook’s WhatsApp.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dale E.” for the heads up.]