Apple: Security Holes Open Up in iPhones, iPads
- Posted on July 7, 2011 at 8:00pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
- Print »
- Email »
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world’s hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks.
Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple, the world’s largest technology company by market value, said Thursday that it is working on a fix that will be distributed in an upcoming software upgrade.
With the security hole, an attacker can get malicious software onto a device by tricking its owner into clicking an infected PDF file. Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security called the flaws “critical weaknesses” in Apple’s iOS operating system.
Internet-connected mobile devices are still subject to fewer attacks than personal computer, but they could eventually prove a juicy target for hackers because they are warehouses of confidential banking, e-mail, calendar, contact and other data.
Software vulnerabilities are discovered all the time. What makes the latest discovery alarming is that the weaknesses are already being actively exploited – albeit in a consensual way.
The latest concerns were prompted by the emergence of a new version of a program to allow Apple devices to run any software and circumvent the restrictions that Apple notoriously retains over software distributed through its online store. There are security risks of doing so, but many people find it liberating to install their own software.
Although this program is something people would seek out, the weaknesses that its authors discovered could easily be used for malice, security experts say.
There is an irony in the controversy: The site distributing the program offers a fix for the problem, but to get the fix, a user has to first install the program in question. So a user must defy Apple’s restrictions to get the protection until Apple comes up with a fix of its own.
Charlie Miller, a prominent hacker of Apple products, said it likely took months to develop the program to break Apple’s restrictions, but a criminal might need only a day or two to modify it for nefarious purposes.
Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is “aware of this reported issue and developing a fix.” She would not say when the update will be available.
One reason for gadget owners to take heart: Attacks on smartphones and other Internet gadgets are still relatively rare. One reason is PC-based attacks are still highly lucrative. Still, vulnerabilities such as the ones Apple is confronting show that consumers should take care of securing their mobile devices as they would their home computer.
“These things are computers – they’re just small, portable computers that happen to have a phone tacked onto them,” said Marc Fossi, manager of research and development for Symantec Security Response. “You’ve got to treat them more like a computer than a phone. You have to be aware of what’s going on with these devices.”
Comments (10)
Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In
Popular Stories
MSNBC Host Snaps in Heated Segment: ‘What in the World Is Riskier Than Being a Poor Person in America?’ 684 Comments
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 647 Comments
‘Jumah at the DNC’ Speaker: ‘Muslims Visited America Prior to Columbus’ & ‘It Was a Muslim’ Who Guided Him to the ‘New World’ 523 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 361 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 316 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 180 Comments- Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More
- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 212 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 146 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 300 Comments
Scathing New Ad Capitalizes on Rep. Ryan‘s ’Fading Obama Posters’ Remark 124 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 180 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
stinkybisquit
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:33pmOnce again, I will either bore hackers to death, or stop them from from seeing my note of “Buy more popsicles.”
Report Post »captaingrumpy
Posted on July 11, 2011 at 7:12pmI bought “Trend Titanium” anti spyware for my computer and enclosed was an APP for the phone,of the same anti-spyware etc. I put it on my phone and have had no problems. I often wonder why people don’t add security to their phones. This is not an ad for Trend,but they are good.
Report Post »ooskerDoo
Posted on July 9, 2011 at 12:30amMy understanding is this is only for those that “Jail Break” their iPhones – not the ones who don’t crack them open to code hackers… right?
Report Post »zoro51
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:31pmapple is way better thana PC flaws can be corrected NO pc is secure… apple is further more secure…
Report Post »LICENSEDTOCARRY
Posted on July 10, 2011 at 11:15amIt’s always amusing how you Apple Zombies worship at the Jobs alter. Reread the post by LYLEJK and educate yourself.
Report Post »BuckleUpAmerica
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 2:39amNo matter how you arrange “1”’s and “0”’s. There is always someone who can break it.
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 2:33amNo surprise. Now Apple understands that any product that is the leader will get most of the attacks. I see patch Tuesdays in Apple’s future. lol
No OS is immune to all attacks and all have vulnerabilities. Only reason Macs have the reputation of being a secure OS is that they never really had enough market share to bother creating viruses for; that goes for Ubuntu too (I like Ubuntu and occasionally run it in a VM; still, it gets patched quite often which is the advantage of Open Source {vulnerabilities get found and patched faster with Open Source software since you have more eyes looking at the problem}). :)
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 11:35amapple is Satan’s child the 1st one sold for $666.66
http://www.macmothership.com/gallery/newads7/1976apple1.jpg
Report Post »commandojoe
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 3:11pmOnly Satan would make such a reliable and user friendly operating system. All this time I thought he was just involved in pestilence, temptation, and the downfall of the world. In reality, he’s been behind slowly marketing useful and reliable personal computers and software. PURE EVIL!
Report Post »Kindwarrior
Posted on July 10, 2011 at 4:36pmActually, what you are seeing is what you have always seen regarding Apple and the press: there are numerous exploits and gross security holes in Android that never get press. The media, however, feels an obligation to it‘s big sponsors so you don’t here about real, malicious Android exploits in the same way the media blurred and distorted the total absence of Mac OS viruses when reporting on “computer” (Windows) viruses. Yes, there are vulnerabilities in Apple products but they are intrinsically (not just because they are not as widely used) more secure than their competition. — don’t even get me started in Lynux.
Report Post »