In the past couple of weeks we’ve had a few reports of worms that have targeted iPhone users, specifically iPhone users who have Jailbroken their iPhones. On the heels of these, a new worm has made an appearance that aims to steal your banking data.
Just like all of the attacks on Jailbroken iPhone’s so far, this worm uses a vulnerability created by users who install SSH on their Jailbroken iPhone and then don’t change their default password.
The last worm to target Jailbroken iPhones merely Rickrolled your device to shame you into fixing the problem, this new worm maliciously targets Dutch ING customers who login via their Jailbroken iPhone. Right now this worm is affecting customers in the Netherlands only, but it’s a great cautionary tale for all Jailbreakers to take simple preventative measures that will prevent anything like this happening to them. If you haven’t changed your default password for SSH access already, please read our article on how to do so and do it immediately!
Security firm Sophos had this to say about the worm:
This worm attacks IP ranges from a larger range of ISPs, including UPC (Netherlands), Optus (Australia), and T-Mobile (Many). When an infected device is hooked up to a WiFi connection, the worm can spread more quickly to more IP addresses than on a typical 3G connection. One symptom noted by security.nl is that battery life is very, very short when the device is connected to WiFi, because the worm is generating so much network activity
In response to news about the worm, Apple Spokesperson Natalie Harrison released this statement to The Loop:
“The worm affects only a very specific set of iPhone users who have jail broken their iPhones and hacked it with unauthorized software. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones, and for good reason. These hacks not only violate the warranty, they will also cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.
This isn’t all that surprising as Apple’s stance has always been that the iPhone does not need Jailbreaking and in fact suffers in performance and security when you do. When situations like this arise it really drives the point home that if you’re going to Jailbreak, do so carefully and make sure you understand the risks and ramifications of doing so. That being said, something like this worm is only dangerous if you don’t change your SSH password, something every Jailbreaker should do. So do it!
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