Digital watchdog group Citizen Lab revealed on Thursday that it had identified spyware connected to the Israeli company NSO, which had exploited a newly discovered vulnerability in Apple devices.

During an examination of the Apple device of an employee from a Washington-based civil society organisation last week, Citizen Lab uncovered that the flaw had been used to infect the device with NSO’s Pegasus spyware.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, emphasised the role of civil society in detecting advanced cyberattacks, stating, “This shows that civil society is once again serving as the early warning system about really sophisticated attacks.”

Citizen Lab did not disclose specific details about the affected individual or the organisation involved.

The vulnerability in question allowed for the compromise of iPhones running the latest iOS version (16.6) without requiring any interaction from the victim, according to the digital watchdog.

Following Citizen Lab’s report, Apple promptly issued updates for its devices to address the identified vulnerabilities.

An Apple spokesperson declined to provide further comments, while Citizen Lab urged consumers to ensure their devices were updated.

NSO, the Israeli firm behind the spyware, has faced international scrutiny and condemnation. In 2021, it was blacklisted by the U.S. government for alleged abuses, including surveil

lance of government officials and journalists. NSO has not yet responded to Citizen Lab’s findings.