Update your iPhone and iPad to protect your device from potential hacking

Update your iPhone and iPad to protect your device from potential hacking 

Apple has released a new software update for iOS and MacOS. For users of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, downloading the patch is critical to avoiding a potential hacking. The potential hacker attack could come remotely via Wi-Fi.

The release notes on Apple's website say that the exploit could hit the iPhone 5 or later, everything since the fourth generation of the iPad and the newest iPod Touch. They also say that "attacker within range may be able to execute arbitrary code on the Wi-Fi chip".

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The dangerous vulnerability, called Broadpwn, had been exposed by a security researcher Nitay Artenstein of Exodus Intelligence, who indicated that a malicious hacker could compromise devices through a bug within Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chipsets.

A hacker can target these devices so long as they are in range, according to Nitay Artenstein, a security researcher at Exodus Intelligence who first exposed the flaw.

Broadpwn is indeed a potentially a serious threat. According to the National Vulnerability Database that is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST, Broadpwn gets a 9.8 out of 10, a severity scored dubbed “critical.”

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The same problem chip is used in other Android phones, according to security experts. Google has already fixed that in the latest version of the operating system, but since manufacturers are often delayed in getting updates out to different phones it may not have arrived on specific models yet.

Mac users are urged to install the macOS Sierra update to version 10.12.6. Start by clicking the Updates tab within the Mac App Store.

If you have an iPhone or other iOS devices, head to Settings, General and then Software Update to install iOS 10.3.3. The iOS update covers iPhone dating back to the iPhone 5, iPads dating back to the 4th generation, as well as the 6th generation iPod Touch.

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If you're on a Mac, head to the App Store and select the Updates tab. A prompt for macOS Sierra 10.12.6 should load from there.

The update also applies other bug fixes.