Most of the malware surrounding the iPhone has affected the ones that are “jailbroken,” which removes the security system Apple put in place to prevent these kinds of hacks in the first place. But a security researcher in Switzerland recently uncovered problems in the Apple iPhone that can impact even a non-jailbroken phone. eSecurityPlanet.com has the details.
The popular Apple iPhone smartphone may be at risk from a security vulnerability that affects even those models that haven’t been hacked, or “jailbroken,” according to new findings from a Swiss software engineer.
Nicolas Seriot, an iPhone developer, presented his findings during a conference in Geneva on iPhone privacy. According to his research, malware could exploit a previously unknown hole to access a user’s e-mail accounts, Safari, and YouTube searches, keyboard cache content, and the Wi-Fi connection logs.
Most hacks that affect the iPhone are the ones that are unlocked with “jailbreak” utilities, programs that break Apple’s control over the phone and allow the use of applications not authorized or downloaded through the AppStore.
It’s also a common means of running the iPhone on networks that don’t support it. Before Apple launched the iPhone in Asia, there was a major gray market of jailbroken iPhones for use with local carriers there.