Today, we hacked what we'd set out to hack: the iPhone

What happened

At a security conference called Hexacon in Paris, a group showed a series of hacking demos aimed at Apple's iPhone. The demos were labeled as one-click attacks, a third-party app attack, and a tool called APT. The team said everything will be released later.

Key facts

• The demos were shown on October 16, 2026.
• There are four demos in the series.
• The first demo is a one-click attack on the Signal app.
• The second demo asks why anyone would care about a third-party app when people use iMessage.
• The team said all the details will be released in due time.

Some key words

A one-click attack means the victim only has to tap or open one thing for the hack to work. A third-party app is an app made by a company other than Apple. APT is short for Advanced Persistent Threat, a term for a long, hidden attack, and here the article jokingly calls it Apple Persistent Threat.

Why it matters

iPhones are used by huge numbers of people, so security flaws can affect many users. Demos like these can show Apple and app makers where their weak spots are. Full details will show how serious the problems really are.

What to watch

• The full release of the demo details.
• Apple's response and any security updates.
• Whether the Signal app team responds to the one-click demo.