It started as a quiet upload on GitHub until a tool called DarkSword began exposing a vulnerability that could affect hundreds of millions of iPhones

Technology can be both beneficial and dangerous for us as a society.

In the modern-day world, nearly everything about us is tracked. We know that our phones and computers are collecting vast amounts of data about us. But when a simple upload to GitHub results in DarkSword exposing vulnerabilities in millions of iPhones, public outrage is reaching a tipping point.

How can a company as sophisticated as Apple allow this to happen?

How the dark side of technology has been revealed to the world in recent years

The rise of technology in modern-day society has a few darker purposes that have become clear to us in recent years.

The proliferation of commercial spyware has moved from military and state security into a concern for the everyday person. The NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware is a prime example of this new dark side of tech. The software can access your personal information without you even clicking on a link.

And the U.S. government has become fully aware of these new threats to national security.

The feds have blacklisted several tech companies due to their software adversely affecting national security. The snowflake breach in 2024 saw hackers compromising several exceedingly large companies like AT&T and Ticketmaster.

It’s not all doom and gloom in the tech industry

As our technological prowess enhances with every new update, we have come to understand that a balance is needed to ensure safety and progression.

Google’s AlphaFold AI model recently won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving a 50-year-old mystery regarding the “protein-folding problem”. This proves the computational potential of artificial intelligence and how it can benefit mankind over the coming years.

The Claude AI model was recently given the reins to grow a tomato with no human interference.

However, as we know, society needs to keep a close eye on the tech companies of the world and how their innovations may be exceeding their purpose. For instance, a recent investigation has found that our Airfryers may be collecting data on us.

Why exactly would an Airfryer need to collect data on its users?

Well, we understand that it tracks what food we eat, but investigations have revealed that so much more is taking place behind a cloaked world. The latest issue for the tech-minded person has been a new security threat that emerged from a simple download on GitHub.

Google Cloud’s statement has attempted to keep users calm, but the overwhelming public outcry has been immense, as millions of iPhone users are now at risk of their data being stolen.

A DarkSword of technology has stabbed through the iPhone and Google

The Google Threat Intelligence Group has conducted an investigation into DarkSword, a complex six-point vulnerability exploit chain that initially was used by state-sponsored actors.

The system exploits vulnerabilities in iOS 18.4 through 18.7, affecting hundreds of millions of iPhone users around the nation.

Some companies have developed CIA-level “blackphones” that may be the answer to our personal security and privacy concerns over the tech industry. But this spyware has been taking hacking to a whole other level.

The spy tool was recently leaked to GitHub, where it spread like wildfire across the internet.

The system exploits and bypasses hardware security using a dyld bug, and then proceeds to break out of the sandbox via a GPU process exploit. It then acts quickly to exfiltrate data from system processes before deleting itself from the device.

While the vast majority of us are left in shock and awe over the latest tech that makes the mundane feel interesting, this innovation is a concern as it exposes the vulnerability in modern-day tech, even in one of the largest companies in the world.