Leaked DarkSword Exploit Exposes Older iPhones to Data Theft

Security researchers say a newer version of the DarkSword iPhone hacking tool has been leaked to a public code‑sharing site, dramatically lowering the skill needed to attack iPhones and iPads running older versions of iOS. The leaked code, written largely in basic web technologies like HTML and JavaScript, can be copied and hosted by relatively inexperienced attackers to compromise devices via malicious links or booby‑trapped websites. Once triggered, DarkSword can extract contacts, messages, call history and passwords from the iOS keychain and send them to a remote server, effectively granting full access to a victim’s digital life. Apple says current iOS versions are already protected and on March 11, 2026, it pushed additional security updates for older devices, but users stuck on iOS 13 or 14 must upgrade to at least iOS 15 to get those fixes. Cybersecurity experts warn that because a large share of active Apple devices are still on older software, the public leak could quickly turn a once‑specialized attack into a widespread threat to U.S. users who neglect updates.