News

First iPhone virus reported, stars Rick Astley

Attacks jailbroken handsets with '80s pop wallpaper

First iPhone virus reported, stars Rick Astley
|

It came to light through the nefarious antics of a hacker from the Netherlands that jailbroken iPhones were open to a simple exploitation that allowed the attacker to take control and read the files of the affected device.

Although the hacker didn’t do any permanent damage to any devices, he demanded money to restore control to the owner before giving up on his illicit venture and informing the community how to block such exploits.

This weekend it seems the problems continue for unsecured modified devices, as Australian iPhone users have become the recipient of the first iPhone virus according to Mashable.

This software worm, known as ikee, is similarly non-destructive, though disturbingly brazen - changing the user’s wallpaper to an image of '80s pop platter Rick Astley.

It’s spread in the same manner, by exploiting unsecured SSH access, in which all iPhone’s share the same root password as part of Apple’s factory settings.

The only saving grace of locked handsets is that currently Apple has SSH access switched off, and any jailbroken users are urged to either switch SSH off when not in use or change the root and mobile passwords.

The ikee virus has so far attacked a range of IP addresses in Australia, though hushed reports are filtering through that some Japanese iPhones have also been affected.

Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.