Own Any Apple Devices? There’s Urgent Security Information You Need To Know NOW:

Do you own any Apple products? Then I have an urgent warning for you.

Listen to Nicole Murray middays on 94.3 The Point and download our free 94.3 The Point app.

But first...Here are the products that this warning pertains to:

With all of the Apple products out there, this means a whopping 1.65 billion products are at risk.

Do you own one of the ones shown above? Then there is some security information that you need to be aware of.

The newest update is called the iOS 14.8 and you need to update this to your devices immediately.

According to Forbes.com, this update is available for all the "iPhone 6S model and newer and the 7th generation iPod touch and newer."

There are times these updates will start automatically, but if not you can kickstart the process yourself.

Here are the steps to take:

But now let's cover the WHY behind the urgency of this update.

According to NYTimes.com, Apple has discovered something called Pegasus Spyware that is being described as a "highly invasive spyware that invisibly infects Apple devices without the victims' knowledge." It is said to come from Israel's NSO Group.

How is that possible? Because this program can gain access to your device without you giving permission, downloading a a new program or clicking a link.

The official term for this is "Zero Click Remote Exploit."

Scary, right?

If someone operating this program gets into your device, they, "can turn on a user's camera and microphone, record messages, texts, emails, calls -- even those sent via encrypted messaging and send them back to NSO's clients at governments around the world."

The new  iOS 14.8 update was designed to tighten security measures so operators of this Pegasus Spyware can't access your device or data.

In addition, Apple has already publicly stated that they will be, "introducing new security defenses for iMessage, in its next iOS 15 software update which is expected later this year."

So down side: we have a serious technology threat.

But there is an up side: now that professionals are aware of the problem, steps are being taken so we are all protected.

Downloading the iOS 14.8 update is the first step. When we know of other ways you can protect your and your family's information, we will be the first to let you know.

Stay safe!

Article Sources: NYTimes.com, Forbes.com