Apple patching iPhone security issue

Apple plans to fix an iPhone SMS security vulnerability that puts phone owners at risk of having their device accessed remotely via SMS, according to security experts.

Although not  a lot of details are available about the vulnerability, it apparently works by allowing people to send computer code rather than just regular text in the SMS message.  By the time attackers are done, they can install a full complete shell environment, providing full control of the hijacked iPhone.

Security researcher Charlie Miller is expected to discuss the vulnerability further during the Black Hat Security Conference in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks.  He spoke during the SyScan security conference in Singapore, and disclosed just a few details about the vulnerability and what phone owners should be aware of.  I’m extremely interested to see what he speaks about during Black Hat later this month, so we’ll have to wait and see.

The sheer number of iPhone owners makes any major security vulnerability a major threat, security experts warn, noting Apple must work faster to fix any known security issues.

We’re all used to hearing about PC vulnerabilities, but the growing use of iPhones and other smartphones has led hackers to continually attack mobile devices.  Furthermore, devices such as the RIM BlackBerry line of smartphones have better security, but major iPhone vulnerabilities has drawn even more hackers towards the iPhone.

It’s a popular option to jailbreak iPhones, but that also leaves iPhone owners vulnerable to additional attacks, as many of Apple’s security protections are removed from the phone when it’s jailbroken.