Apple has pretty much finalized iOS 16 ahead of its release next month, but with the general public still using iOS 15, its important that security updates don’t get missed.
So despite a whole new operating system right around the corner, Apple last week released iOS 15.6.1, a minor update that fixes two security vulnerabilities that could leave your device open for hackers. As ever, despite no new features coming with this update, you shouldn’t ignore it. Apple says keeping up to date is “one of the most important things you can do to maintain your Apple product’s security.” We would echo that and recommend you download the update via Settings > General > Software Update if you haven’t already.
That said, if you’ve read the news lately you might be under the impression this is a huge security flaw that needs addressing immediately before you lose all your personal data to hackers. That’s not quite the case; the media has run with this story and blown it out of proportion. In reality, this is a fairly routine fix – we’ve reported on several “.1” software updates in the past year alone – that closes down a niche vulnerability that only a select few have the time and money to exploit.
Generally, if you’re not wanted by a corrupt nation-state or under the direct scrutiny of the FBI, you probably don’t need to worry too much. Even those entities often have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on specialists to break into a single locked iPhone. Nobody’s targeting random people with these kind of attacks. But it’s still wise to close those security holes anyway!