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Last week, it was DarkSword then Published to the open source code repository GitHubmaking it more accessible. Shortly after, security firms Malfors and Proofpoint warned that another Russian hacker group linked to the Kremlin’s FSB intelligence agency was sending phishing emails using the technique. Independent security researcher Johnny Franks told WIRED that he found another new active domain — a fake website written in English, capable of infecting US-based users — that was part of the DarkSword hacking campaign late Thursday of last week, a discovery confirmed by mobile security company iVerify.
Despite DarkSword’s growing threat to iOS 18 users, many have stubbornly refused to update to iOS 26. On Reddit channels related to cybersecurity and iOS, some self-identified iPhone owners discussing DarkSword have argued that Apple appears to be exploiting DarkSword hacking campaigns to push them to the latest version of its operating system, which some have Found to be slow or excessively mobile.
“Apple is trying to force you into a liquid glass garbage can,” one Reddit user wrote.
“If it’s so serious, why didn’t Apple push a fix into iOS 18.x,” asked another Redditor.
“It’s all bullshit propaganda!” another user wrote. “Not updating my phone is perfect on iOS 18.1.1.”
For cybersecurity experts who have been waiting for Apple to move, the company’s move now to cater to stubborn iOS 18 users has received “better late than never” reviews. “Apple is now, finally, doing it for DarkSword exploits, but only after they have already been exploited by other attackers, putting iOS users at risk,” says Patrick Wardle, a former NSA hacker and current CEO of Apple-focused security firm DoubleYou. “If protecting users is truly important, then support for critical fixes should be the standard, not the exception.”
DarkSword is, in fact, the second cutting-edge iPhone hacking technique in just the past month that has inspired Apple to take the rare step of pushing out fixes for older versions of iOS. Earlier in March, the company also released patches to protect users from a different, more sophisticated iOS hacking toolkit Known as Corona. A week after researchers at Google and iVerify revealed that the Coruna iOS exploit kit — which was likely created for the U.S. government — had spread from Russian espionage hackers to profit-focused cybercriminals, Apple released security fixes for iOS 17, the older version of Apple’s mobile operating system that was vulnerable to Coruna’s suite of hacking techniques.
However, DarkSword’s ability to hack iOS 18 devices left a different group of users vulnerable. iVerify co-founder Rocky Cole points out that some of these users may have held off on updating to iOS 26 yet not just because they don’t like its features but because they use specific or custom apps that aren’t compatible with the newer operating systems. In the UK, Apple has also done so Added age verification iOS 26 features that some users have resisted. Others may not have enough storage space on their phone to perform the update.