All our devices at risk from security flaws, admits Apple

APPLE has admitted that all of its computers, tablets and smartphones are affected by security flaws which put them at risk from hackers.

The company – which charges €1,179 for its top-of-the-range iPhone X – issued the warning as developers scramble to find fixes for the Meltdown and Spectre bugs threatening billions of computers.

Hackers could use the flaws to bypass security systems, and steal secrets from the protected memory area on each computer.

Anyone who has an iPhone, iPad or Mac computer is vulnerable to having their personal information stolen – including photographs, passwords, private access codes and bank details.

Apple said there was no evidence of a breach. ‘All Mac systems and iOS devices [machines that run on Apple’s operating system] are affected, but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time,’ the company added.

However, experts warn that developers will have to redesign the way computers are made to keep people’s information secure against future hackers. With developers working round the clock to try and fix the problem before cyber-criminals get there.

The Meltdown and Spectre bugs target processors – the physical ‘brains’ of a computer – made by Intel, AMD and British technology giant ARM.

The bugs act in different ways but both of them effectively allow hackers to bypass the processors’ inbuilt security systems, and steal secrets from the protected memory area.

Microsoft, Apple and Google have all issued patches, which should fix the problem, but experts warned some of them will dramatically slow down computers.

The National Cyber Security Centre says there is ‘no evidence’ the bugs have been exploited by hackers, but urged people to update their operating systems and install patches when they are released.