News

A new unpatchable flaw in Apple chips opens the door to an iPhone jailbreak

Published

1 month ago

June 22, 2026

Preport

A company that sells spyware and hacking tools to government agencies has published details of a vulnerability in Apple chips that can potentially help hackers unlock older iPhones.

This release opens the door for other researchers who specialize in finding iOS vulnerabilities, such as those working for governments or their contractors, to develop effective hacks for iPhones, provided they can find additional vulnerabilities to chain together with this one. This could help security researchers develop a so-called iPhone jailbreak, a technique to hack into Apple’s mobile operating system and remove all the restrictions the company puts on it.

The release is also a reminder that while Apple has made iPhones extremely hard to hack, there are and will always be vulnerabilities that sophisticated hackers can take advantage of to break in.

On Friday, Paradigm Shift, an offensive cybersecurity company based in Barcelona, published a blog post about the vulnerability, which it dubbed “usbliter8.” The company also published a proof of concept that shows how to exploit the vulnerability, which requires physical access to the target phone.

The flaw and related exploit affect iPhones that have Apple-made chips A12 and A13, which were released in 2018 and 2019, and are included in older iPhones such as the XS, XR and up to the iPhone 11.

The release of usbliter8 is significant in the world of security research and spyware and hacking tools’ makers, but it does not mean that older iPhones are easily hackable by anyone.

The bug found by Paradigm Shift affects the iPhone’s Boot ROM, which is the first piece of code that runs when an iPhone is turned on and, consequently, its first line of defense against hackers. To hack an iPhone with physical access to it — meaning having the ability to connect a cable to it — hackers need to first exploit the Boot ROM. Now, they can do that thanks to usbliter8, which allows them to potentially defeat and bypass further security checks.

Paradigm Shift wrote in its blog that “as these vulnerabilities reside in immutable code, affected users should be aware that migrating to newer hardware remains the most effective mitigation.”

In other words, given that the Boot ROM is burned into the chip, it can’t be changed and flaws in it cannot be patched.

Generally speaking, companies that sell systems to hack iPhones seized by authorities, such as Cellebrite and Magnet Forensics need, and likely already have at their disposal, techniques similar to usbliter8 to break into iPhones. However, hackers still need to incorporate other techniques to access the user data stored in the phone.

Public iPhone jailbreaks were relatively widespread in the past, but they have become rarer in the last decade. Jailbreaking an iPhone is often the first step to either research other vulnerabilities on the system. Researchers — intent on finding valuable iPhone flaws and ways to exploit them — have few incentives to release that information publicly, because that would lead to Apple fixing the flaws and setting the researchers back.

Paradigm Shift did not respond to a series of questions related to usbliter8.

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Related Topics:Apple chips door flaw iPhone jailbreak opens unpatchable

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I contested against INEC in 2023 – SDP chieftain, Adebayo

Published

22 minutes ago

August 3, 2026

Preport

Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Adewole Adebayo, says he contested the 2023 general elections against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Adedayo made this claim during a live appearance in an interview programme on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’.

He blasted the outcome of the 2023 elections, alleging that it was marred by fraud and the legitimization of false figures by the electoral umpire.

The presidential candidate expressed a desire for the 2027 polls to be different, calling on the electoral body and the security operatives to be impartial entities rather than opponents.

“In 2023, I contested against INEC. INEC was the opponent. It’s like you allow a bank robber to count the money stolen from the bank, and you say that’s his profit. So what happened in 2023 was not good at all. All those numbers were fake.

“The difference I would want now, hopefully I pray for the INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, Electoral Commissioners and other staff, that this time around no candidate should see INEC as an enemy.

“So if it is candidate versus candidate, then we are ready. But there is no candidate who should be unfortunate enough to be running against INEC, like we were running against INEC in 2023, and that is what we need to change.

“And I pray that we pay attention to that and we become serious to run for an election. It’s like to write an exam, your score to reflect your effort, and that is it,” he said.

Business

NAICOM Announces Successful Completion of Insurance Sector Recapitalization Exercise

Published

33 minutes ago

August 3, 2026

Preport

The National Insurance Commission,(NAICOM), today announced the successful completion of the twelve-month insurance sector recapitalization exercise.

In pursuant to Section 15 and other relevant provisions of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, signed into law on 31 July 2025 by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a as part of his administration’s financial sector transformation agenda towards the attainment of a US$1 trillion economy by 2030.

The successful conclusion of the exercise marks a defining milestone in the transformation of Nigeria’s insurance industry and signals the beginning of a new era for insurance in the country.

It represents a major step towards building a stronger, more resilient, adequately capitalized, professionally governed, and policyholder-focused insurance sector that is better positioned to support national economic growth, deepen financial inclusion, mobilize long-term investment capital, and contribute meaningfully to the stability of Nigeria’s financial system.

Following the enactment of NIIRA 2025, the Commission commenced a structured implementation process to provide strategic oversight, ensure transparency, support operators throughout the transition, and facilitate the effective implementation of the new minimum capital requirements within the statutory compliance period.

To ensure an orderly, transparent, credible, and verifiable process, the Commission issued the Guidelines on the Implementation of Minimum Capital Requirements (MCR) for Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Nigeria. The Guidelines provided detailed guidance on the statutory minimum capital requirements under NIIRA 2025, eligible and ineligible capital instruments, admissible and non-admissible assets, verification and validation procedures, regulatory timelines, reporting obligations, and supervisory expectations throughout the implementation period.

Through a comprehensive process of review, verification, and validation, the recapitalization exercise has delivered a major boost to the Nigerian insurance industry. It has enhanced the financial resilience of operators, attracted substantial domestic and foreign investment, and rekindled strong investor confidence.

The verified outcome of the exercise indicates that Forty-three (43) insurance and reinsurance companies successfully met the prescribed Minimum Capital Requirements. However, Eight (8) insurance companies that submitted evidence of compliance shortly before the statutory deadline are currently undergoing final verification and regulatory review. This would be concluded within fourteen days.

Nigeria’s insurance industry is now entering a new phase of development founded on stronger capital, improved financial resilience, and enhanced capacity to underwrite larger and more sophisticated risks across strategic sectors of the economy.

The increase in minimum capital will improve insurers’ ability to honour policyholder obligations promptly, absorb emerging risks, support infrastructure and other long-term investments, and compete more effectively within regional and global insurance markets.

The recapitalization exercise also provides a stronger foundation for enhanced risk-based supervision by the Commission, ensuring that regulatory capital remains appropriately aligned with the nature, scale, complexity, and risk profile of each licensed operator.

The Commission reassures policyholders, investors, insurance operators, development partners, and the general public that, as the implementation of NIIRA 2025 continues alongside the modernization of Nigeria’s insurance ecosystem through innovation, technology, and digitization, the Commission will continue to strengthen consumer protection, promote sound market conduct, and accelerate insurance penetration across the country.

Our unwavering commitment remains to build a fair, stable, innovative, inclusive, and globally competitive insurance market that inspires public confidence and delivers lasting value to policyholders and the Nigerian economy.

The Commission will continue to engage stakeholders and provide regular updates on post-recapitalization supervisory actions, companies undergoing final verification, industry restructuring developments, implementation of the Risk-Based Capital Framework, and other strategic initiatives designed to deepen insurance penetration and strengthen confidence in the Nigerian insurance industry.

The National Insurance Commission expresses its profound appreciation to the Federal Government, regulatory and supervisory partners, shareholders, investors, operators, professional bodies, development partners, and all stakeholders whose cooperation and commitment contributed to the successful completion of this historic exercise. The Commission looks forward to even stronger collaboration as Nigeria enters a new era of insurance.

The successful completion of this recapitalization exercise is not the destination but the foundation. It marks the beginning of a new era in which stronger institutions, stronger governance, and stronger public confidence will make insurance work better for every Nigerian.

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