[shp0ngle]

There are two different types of attacks.

One is fly-by attacks by random viruses and ransomware. For those cases, I would not worry about pictures.

Other is when you are targeted by regimes with essentially unlimited budget. In that case yes, the picture can be a spyware.

[heavyset_go]

> Other is when you are targeted by regimes with essentially unlimited budget. In that case yes, the picture can be a spyware.

If this was the case, exploits would never be published or abused, and jailbreaks wouldn't exist because this logic says that those who find exploits will either disclose them "responsibly" or sell them to a nation-state.

If the idea of non-state hackers doesn't bother you, recognize that organized crime is a billion dollar industry and fraud rings would love root access on tons of normal people's devices, including your own.

[IncRnd]

That's terrible advice that is among some of the worst advice that could be given. There are many other types of attacks that are not viral, are not ransomware and do not originate from state actors.

[vatys]

How does one know which category they are in?

[itsokimbatman]

Think about who would want to spy on you, what they'd want to know, and how much they'd be willing to spend to know it.

If the most they could get out of you was a few thousand bucks from your bank account and maybe your email password, you're probably in the first category.

On the other hand, if you have access to highly confidential information (think classified government info or you're literally working on the next iPhone) or are the type of person who makes enemies of spoiled rich oligarchs in despotic nations then you're probably in the second.

[np-]

The problem is, everyone is in the second category over a long enough time frame. Hong Kongers probably thought the same, but suddenly there were crackdowns, and state actors probably would have loved to have unrestricted access to peoples phones to see if citizens were exercising their “free speech” correctly.

Think about Ukraine today, the Russian government would probably love to have a way to compromise millions of Ukrainian citizens’ phones.

These people all use iPhones.

[AnonymousPlanet]

> These people all use iPhones.

A quick research tells me that pretty much all stats show Android use to be around 80% in Ukraine. Or did you mean Hong Kong? For the latter I see a 50/50 divide.

Just curious about that sentence. I don't think the stats take anything away from your general argument.

[AnonymousPlanet]

Who might be my enemy in the future? Well, maybe anyone who thinks I have something worth to them. Let's say a social media account with a double letter username. Or anything I don't think has any worth now but can be turned into a handsome buck tomorrow. People have been doxed and SWATed over less.

[christophilus]

I don’t know. If I was going to bust a move on, say, Taiwan, it might be handy to have root access to as many computing devices as possible so that I could wreak havoc on my enemy’s communication and banking systems.

[aborsy]

Who will target you if you are working on next iPhone?

[throwaway48375]

everyone

[markdown]

China.

Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Honor... there are quite a few Chinese phone brands that would benefit from knowing what Apple are working on.

[shp0ngle]

You never really know.

But nobody is going to burn zero days on mass surveillance. It’s just for specifically targeted people.

[Spooky23]

Are you or someone you associate with interesting?

Negotiate big contracts? Work in aerospace or defense? Have access to inside information about a public company? Have access or are a high level political official?

[Cyph0n]

If you are asking, you are probably in the first category, along with myself and the vast majority of people.

[pvg]

There's classical literature on this:

https://www.usenix.org/system/files/1401_08-12_mickens.pdf

[iqanq]

If you are a feminist activist in saudi arabia, I guess you know the deal