iPhone Bug; Hackers Weaponize COVID-19; AT&T Expands 5G Footprint; Zoom Boosts Security

Apple will patch a newly discovered iPhone vulnerability that security researchers say hackers have already used to steal data from their victims’ devices. Techcrunch.com says the bug is in the iPhone’s default Mail app. By sending a specially crafted email to the victim’s device, an attacker can overrun the device’s memory, allowing the attacker to remotely run malicious code to steal data from the device. Worse, the bug doesn’t require any user interaction on the latest version of iOS 13. A fix will be rolled out in an upcoming update. Until then, high-risk users should disable the Mail app.

From hawking fake vaccines and stolen masks to phishing attempts designed to take advantage of the pandemic, the internet has seen coronavirus-related scams and attacks skyrocket over the past few weeks. According to mashable.com, Google’s Threat Analysis Group released a report, saying it has specifically identified attacks targeting U.S. governmental workers and health agencies, phishing emails going after employees working from home, and fake charity solicitations, and more than a dozen of the hacker groups were state-sponsored-like ‘Charming Kitten’ out of Iran!

AT&T is dramatically ramping up the rollout of its 5G network to new markets. The carrier is nearly doubling the availability of its low-band 5G network, bringing it to 90 new areas starting today. 9to5mac.com reports that with today’s expansion, the low-band 5G network is now available in over 190 markets, according to the carrier, covering more than 120 million people. The added markets include Sacramento, Chico, Redding, and Yuba City. AT&T plans to reach nationwide coverage of its low-band 5G by sometime this summer.

Zoom promised a 90-day feature freeze to fix privacy and security issues, and the company is delivering on some of those promises. Theverge.com says A new Zoom 5.0 update is rolling out this week that’s designed to address some of the many complaints that Zoom has faced in recent weeks. With this new update, there’s now a security icon that groups together a number of Zoom’s security features. You can use it to quickly lock meetings, remove participants, and restrict screen sharing and chatting in meetings. Zoom is also now enabling passwords by default for most customers.