A loophole in iPhones that allowed them to be hacked through "Wi-Fi" networks
Researchers uncovered a vulnerability in iPhones that allowed hackers to remotely penetrate them without the device owners making specific mistakes.
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| Researcher Ian Bear conducted a practical experiment to remotely penetrate and control iPhones |
Smartphones are usually hacked because of the user's error, who opens an unsafe link or message or downloads a malicious application, allowing hackers to take control of the phone.
Researcher Ian Bear, who works for Google Project Zero, revealed how hackers were able to steal emails, photos, messages, and even access the camera and microphone through a hardware vulnerability.
Apple took care of the issue and fixed the bug in May.
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IPhone phones could be hacked through Wi-Fi networks, through a technology called Apple Wireless Direct Link.
The technology allowed using Wi-Fi to send files and photos via Apple AirDrop technology, and easily share the screen with other IOS-based devices.
Researcher Bear conducted a practical experiment to exploit this, and to show how hackers can penetrate a device remotely.
And he explained through a blog how he managed to hack the phone, after six months of researching this matter.
'Attractive choice'
Bear found no evidence that the vulnerability was "being exploited on a large scale," although he said some people had spoken on Twitter about the vulnerability when its fix was announced in May.
He added, "Since we put everything related to us on these devices, the attacker can obtain a treasure trove of information from someone he believes is safe."
Apple did not comment or respond to questions asked by the BBC for comment on this news.
Professor Daniel Dresner, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Manchester, said that the lack of disclosure of a major piracy operation for this vulnerability was reassuring, as were the quick reactions from those involved in uncovering and addressing it.
He added that it is important given how the new services are exploited, as devices become more connected.
"Since phones have become an important means of living permanently on the Internet, they are attractive choices for those looking for these vulnerabilities to exploit," Dresner said.
Location data
Last year, Bear revealed a "continuous effort" to hack iPhones, using booby-trapped websites, which were said to have been visited thousands of times each week.
Once on the iPhone, the implanted link can access a massive amount of data, including contacts and photos, and transfer it to an external server every 60 seconds.
In response, Apple accused Google of spreading fear, with the investigation published six months after it solved the problems.
However, it is known that security researchers do not publish the results of their vulnerability research until after companies are given the opportunity to fix the flaw.
And Zik Ops, a cell phone security company, revealed another Apple vulnerability in March.
Their research said a bug in the email application made the devices vulnerable to sophisticated attacks.
At the time, an Apple representative told Reuters news agency that a fix would be included in upcoming software updates.
Also previously revealed vulnerabilities and vulnerabilities in the Android operating system produced by Google.
It has been reported that more than a billion Android devices are at risk of being hacked because they are no longer protected by security updates.
And there were warnings that anyone using an Android phone released in 2012 or earlier should be especially concerned.
BBC
