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+--- Thread: iPhone takeover alerts??? (/showthread.php?tid=82068)
iPhone takeover alerts??? - DeusxMac - 07-30-2009
Local TV and radio news this morning warning about a trojan horse iPhone text message that can take over the user's phone and data. Supposedly if a text message is received that contains only a single square symbol, that's it.
Users are advised to turn of their iPhone immediately.
"iPhone Vulnerable to Texting Hack
KCBS' Matt Bigler reports an unusual text message consisting of a small square character is the first step of an attack that allows hackers to take control of an iPhone through a series of text messages. (7/30/09; :49)"
http://www.kcbs.com/iPhone-Vulnerable-to-Texting-Hack/4905695
But...
I see nothing here about it, nor at the few major news Web sites I've checked (CNN, NYT etc.)
Re: iPhone takeover alerts??? - evilrobot - 07-30-2009
is this one of those 'proof of concept' examples that the uneducated media is spinning out of control?
our local news would have you believe the sky is falling here as well.
Re: iPhone takeover alerts??? - TheTominator - 07-30-2009
More info here:
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/09/07/30/135234/SMS-Hack-Could-Makes-iPhones-Vulnerable?art_pos=3
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/hackers-iphone-apple-technology-security-hackers.html
evilrobot wrote:
is this one of those 'proof of concept' examples that the uneducated media is spinning out of control?
No, I don't believe they are spinning this out of control. This seems to be a real attack vector that will be publicly announced at a hacker conference Thursday afternoon (today).
This attack is not limited to the iPhone, but mentioning the iPhone makes it "news".
The iPhone SMS bug is just one of a series that the researchers plan to reveal in their talk. They say they've also found a similar texting bug in Windows Mobile that allows complete remote control of Microsoft-based devices. Another pair of SMS bugs in the iPhone and Google's Android phones would purportedly allow a hacker to knock a phone off its wireless network for about 10 seconds with a series of text messages. The trick could be repeated again and again to keep the user offline, Miller says. Though Google has patched the Android flaw, this second iPhone bug also remains unpatched, he adds.
Re: iPhone takeover alerts??? - josntme - 07-30-2009
Does it matter that I have messaging off?
Re: iPhone takeover alerts??? - RAMd®d - 07-30-2009
is this one of those 'proof of concept' examples that the uneducated media is spinning out of control?
Yes.
This seems to be a real attack vector that will be publicly announced at a hacker conference Thursday afternoon (today).
What is the difference between proof of concept and "real attack vector"?
This attack is not limited to the iPhone, but mentioning the iPhone makes it "news".
Hence, my belief that this is in fact an example of the media spinning out of control. In effect, they are manufacturing and manipulating the "news" aspect. I've heard nearly a dozen reports from different sources about this and not *one* of these traditional media sources has mentioned any phone except the iPhone, and not even mentioned that this is not limited to the iPhone.
Another pair of SMS bugs in the iPhone and Google's Android phones would purportedly allow a hacker to knock a phone off its wireless network for about 10 seconds with a series of text messages. The trick could be repeated again and again to keep the user offline, Miller says. Though Google has patched the Android flaw, this second iPhone bug also remains unpatched, he adds.
What you quote, is to me nothing more than an annoyance. Yet the aforementioned media reports I heard all talked about a perpetrator gaining access to all the stored data and making calls from an iPhone.
Now that's significant news. And if it's not true, it would be yet another indication of the media spinning out of control.
And if it's true for other phones as well, then not mentioning them goes to my first mention of manipulation and spinning out of control.
Re: iPhone takeover alerts??? - Article Accelerator - 07-30-2009
TheTominator wrote:
This attack is not limited to the iPhone
Ta-da!
Re: iPhone takeover alerts??? - particleman - 07-30-2009
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