There have been several security issues with the iPhone, in its short life, from this weakness which appeared shortly after its release, to this, this, and this security update for the device. In addition, there has been a lot of talk about how it could be attacked by hackers.
In a vague press release from a security analyst hoping to make a name for itself, suggestions are made that the “iPhone will become the victim of a serious attack in 2008.” This analyst suggests that “These assaults are likely to be in the form of drive by attacks – malware embedded into seemingly harmless information, images or other media that actually perform dangerous actions when rendered on the iPhone’s Web browser.”
Well, that’s like saying it will rain sometime next month, but we don’t know when or how much. However, one comment does make sense: “hackers will be enticed by the possibility of attacking Apple users and the opportunity to “be the first” to hack a new platform.” The iPhone is high-profile, it’s always on, and it has Internet access, all factors that could lead to attacks. In addition, phone users generally don’t worry about security – they don’t have firewalls or antivirus software installed, and in the case of the iPhone, there are no possibilities to install this sort of software.
Intego believes that there will be threats to the iPhone, and given the kinds of flaws that have affected Apple software recently (the RSPlug Trojan Horse and the QuickTime streaming flaw), it’s not clear which type of malware will be most effective, or most virulent. It is worth noting that there are ways of hijacking phones to make money – having them call expensive numbers that are not included in phone plans, for example; something that is harder to do on computers.
Intego is monitoring security issues on the iPhone, and will provide information whenever any threats appear that affect this device.
