Possible iPhone Hack Slated to be revealed 7/30/09: owners take note

On Thursday, two researchers plan to reveal an unpatched iPhone bug that could virally infect phones via SMS.
From Forbes.com

If you receive a text message on your iPhone any time after Thursday afternoon containing only a single square character, Charlie Miller would suggest you turn the device off. Quickly.

That small cipher will likely be your only warning that someone has taken advantage of a bug that Miller and his fellow cybersecurity researcher Collin Mulliner plan to publicize Thursday at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Using a flaw they've found in the iPhone's handling of text messages, the researchers say they'll demonstrate how to send a series of mostly invisible SMS bursts that can give a hacker complete power over any of the smart phone's functions. That includes dialing the phone, visiting Web sites, turning on the device's camera and microphone and, most importantly, sending more text messages to further propagate a mass-gadget hijacking. (read entire article here)

OK, don't panic. Things to make note of:

1. This is a bug that is being revealed by researches, not hackers--don't hate the messengers. The people who are (responsibly) exploiting these vulnerabilities play an important role in software development quality control. It's akin to a whistle blower revealing a faulty tire scandal. What the manufacturer chooses to do with this information is up to them, but we as the consumer should welcome such discourse instead of sweeping it under the rug.
   



2. It remains to be seen what, if anything, will become of revealing this information. In other words, who knows if an actual "attack" will even come into fruition. Just be aware, OK?
   



3. While hacks for mobile devices are not incredibly numerous (as of yet), they certainly do exist. Google your phone name and the word "virus" and see what comes up. Be a conscious consumer and stay on top of alerts like this one.



4. All software, even Macs, have potential security holes to exploit. It's just up to the hacker to choose what (s)he wants to exploit. Again, with the informed consuming on all of our parts.
   

If you ever have concerns about the security of your network or phones or what-have-you, please don't hesitate to contact us. Though we applaud personal empowerment and conscious consuming, we do understand that it's still a Wild, Wild West when it comes to the digital world.