Apple has issued a global iPhone security update after a flaw was uncovered that can give hackers full control of a phone.

Photo shows the touch ID fuction of iPhone. [File photo: cztv.com]

In a statement, the company said it had fixed the vulnerability immediately.

A senior researcher at internet watchdog group Citizen Lab, Bill Marczak, says it's the first time they've seen such a hack used in the public realm.

"It seems that the attack involved a series of 'zero day' exploits called a 'remote jailbreak'. Now this sort of attack, this is the first time we've seen that in the wild.''

The flaw could give hackers the ability to eavesdrop on calls, activate cameras, steal passwords and harvest messages.

Researchers uncovered the malicious software after a human rights activist in the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Mansoor, received suspicious text messages earlier this month.

Citizen Lab traced the attempt to the NSO Group, a secretive Israeli-based, but American-owned, software company.

The company says it has no knowledge of any particular incidents.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)