Miscreants have developed a hacking tool that attacks jailbroken iPhones.
iPhone-Privacy-A follows hot on the heels of last weekend's Rickrolling worm that changed the wallpaper on vulnerable iPhones to an image of cheesy '80s pop star Rick Astley. The latest hacking threat exploits the same vulnerability in the iPhone as the ikee worm, allowing hackers to connect to any jailbroken iPhone.
Mac-specialist security firm Intego, which was the first to warn of the threat, said the hacker tool is far more dangerous than the Rickrolling worm.
"When connecting to a jailbroken iPhone, this tool allows a hacker to silently copy a treasure trove of user data from a compromised iPhone: e-mail, contacts, SMSs, calendars, photos, music files, videos, as well as any data recorded by any iPhone app," Intego warns. "Unlike the ikee worm, which signals its presence by changing the iPhone's wallpaper, this hacker tool gives no indication that it has invaded an iPhone."
Hackers might install the Privacy-A hacking tool after scanning open wireless Lan networks, in a hotspot or elsewhere, for vulnerable devices that happen to be connected at the time. The tool might also be run by hackers from their iPhones. There's no evidence that such attacks are actually happening, certainly not on a large scale.
Jailbroken iPhones are hacked to allow the installation of software beyond applications that can be download through Apple's App Store. An estimated six to eight per cent of iPhones are jailbroken.
The jailbreaking process installs an SSH (secure shell) remote access service on iPhones. Many users don't bother changing their root passwords from the default after going through this process, a security shortcoming exploited by both the ikee worm and the Privacy-A hacking tool. The latest threat is another reminder that jailbroken iPhone owners need to change passwords to avoid the risk of getting iPwned, or worse.
Malware cleans out jailbroken iPhones ? The Register
iPhone-Privacy-A follows hot on the heels of last weekend's Rickrolling worm that changed the wallpaper on vulnerable iPhones to an image of cheesy '80s pop star Rick Astley. The latest hacking threat exploits the same vulnerability in the iPhone as the ikee worm, allowing hackers to connect to any jailbroken iPhone.
Mac-specialist security firm Intego, which was the first to warn of the threat, said the hacker tool is far more dangerous than the Rickrolling worm.
"When connecting to a jailbroken iPhone, this tool allows a hacker to silently copy a treasure trove of user data from a compromised iPhone: e-mail, contacts, SMSs, calendars, photos, music files, videos, as well as any data recorded by any iPhone app," Intego warns. "Unlike the ikee worm, which signals its presence by changing the iPhone's wallpaper, this hacker tool gives no indication that it has invaded an iPhone."
Hackers might install the Privacy-A hacking tool after scanning open wireless Lan networks, in a hotspot or elsewhere, for vulnerable devices that happen to be connected at the time. The tool might also be run by hackers from their iPhones. There's no evidence that such attacks are actually happening, certainly not on a large scale.
Jailbroken iPhones are hacked to allow the installation of software beyond applications that can be download through Apple's App Store. An estimated six to eight per cent of iPhones are jailbroken.
The jailbreaking process installs an SSH (secure shell) remote access service on iPhones. Many users don't bother changing their root passwords from the default after going through this process, a security shortcoming exploited by both the ikee worm and the Privacy-A hacking tool. The latest threat is another reminder that jailbroken iPhone owners need to change passwords to avoid the risk of getting iPwned, or worse.
Malware cleans out jailbroken iPhones ? The Register
