Yes-hackers use malware to take control of devices.
Following are suggestions based on what I have learned through countless hours of reading up on cyber security and living with hacking problem for almost one year: put a freeze on your credit file with all four credit agencies; on your devices turn off bluetooth and wifi when you are not using them; on your iPhone go to settings-wifi-edit and turn off auto join wifi networks; use an app that protects you from malicious web sites; do not click on any link whether it be in a text or email; do not unsubscribe from receiving emails by clicking a link at the bottom if the email. Text messages and emails messages are easily spoofed; start using security keys (Yubi is one company) to sign into your online accounts; use a domain name service (dns) on your router and on any device you are not using a vpn; on your ios device, if you get a pop up stating that your input was wrong (whether it be an email password or something else) before resetting your password, which is what they want you to do, turn off all notifications under settings. Clear out your browsing history and data in Safari and reboot your device. Then try to do the activity again. You should be able to complete the activity. This was my latest lesson learned from just a couple of days ago. The malware on my device controls the popups so even when I entered a correct password, passcode, or 2nd factor authentication code I would get a popup stating that it was wrong. This has been going on for months; everyday reboot your ios device, and on a regular basis delete your Safari history and data.After receiving too many system pops since getting this phone in May of this year and after seeing evidence that the hacker was on this device (ANOTHER new device in my attempt to escape his/her/their reaches) I stopped answering/responding to the popup and would force my phone to reboot to avoid being forced to respond to the popup. After not responding to their regular popups, asking if I wanted to "undo" an activity or asking if "I was sure" that I wanted to continue with an activity, they sent me a survey on an app I was using. After staring at the popup "knowing" it was from the hacker, I made a conscious decision to answer the survey so I could get confirmation that the hacker was indeed using malware popups. Shortly after responding to the survey, I checked all of the settings on my phone. Every screen time setting had been changed and the password deleted. Anybody who tells you, "Iphones cant be hacked", or that "it's your fault if you get malware" knows absolutely nothing about the state of cyber security in the world today. Every time I read a post or hear someone say that iPhones cant be hacked, I think of how TOTALLY CLUELESS they are. Start researching "ios zero day exploits", "ios vulnerabilities", "ios security updates". Some of Apple's latest security updates patched exploits that gave kernal privileges to imessage, safari, find my and other apps. Also, google "Today Show February 2023 Apple security update" ( or something similar to that) where they mention the zero day exploit that was patched.
If you want to know if your devices and possibly network have been hacked, (1) on your iPhone go to settings, screen time, content & privacy restrictions and restrict activity on your phone. Enter a passcode.( Every time I have tried to lock down a device with strict security settings, the hacker has removed the settings) (2) on your home network, make sure you have your correct wifi password and network name. Take a tv (or another device)off the wifi network. Do not accept any password that is auto populated when you are reconnecting. Instead, delete by backspacing any auto populated password and type the password you know is correct. If the password doesn't work, the hacker has changed the password, reconnected your devices to their network, and is probably monitoring all of your network activity. This may sound really crazy .... but before you start down this investigative security journey, think twice and make sure you really want to know if someone is watching all of your internet activity, because while there are steps you can take to make your digital life more secure, once they have been on your devices and network, they probably have a lot if not all of your personal inform. My first 4-5 months of this journey, I was in panic/stressed out mode and then anger kicked in. Now, Ive been forced to accept the hacker/malware to a certain degree because I don't have the training or skill set to fight them, although I am learning a-lot online, on YouTube, and will be enrolling in a coding class to hopefully help me fight them by protecting my devices.
The malware that I have in this Iphone 13, survives/persists factory resets and using a new Apple ID. Getting a new phone number doesn't help because the hacker has access to my contacts and gets my new number.
