Egyptian Presidential Hopeful Targeted with Predator Spyware: Researchers Uncover New Apple Zero-Days

Ahmed Eltantawy, a prominent Egyptian opposition politician and presidential hopeful, was targeted with a zero-day attack in an attempt to infect his iPhone with Predator spyware. The attack, which prompted Apple to release a security update, was discovered by Google and the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab. The lab has "high confidence" that the Egyptian government was responsible for the hacking attempt. Predator spyware, developed by Cytrox, can steal passwords, log keystrokes, and record calls. Eltantawy, an outspoken critic of the Egyptian government, had been receiving suspicious messages since May. The attack involved the use of PacketLogic, a product by Sandvine, a Canadian networking equipment company. The incident highlights the risks posed by commercial surveillance vendors and their impact on online user safety.