A Web site that has made it simple for iPhone and iPad users to jailbreak their devices is not just a nuisance for Apple, which wants to discourage owners from jail-breaking their devices, but is also a portent for future malicious attacks.
Owners of Apple gadgets, including the recently launched iPad 2, are being presented with an easy way to jail-break their devices, opening up the possibility of installing applications that have not been approved by the official Apple AppStore.
Normally, jail-breaking requires users to connect their device to a computer before they can start to tamper with the set-up of their iPhone or iPad, and gain access to the Cydia underground app store.
The drive-by jail-break is possible because the Web site exploits a vulnerability in the way that the mobile edition of Safari (the default browser used in the iOS operating system) handles PDF files.
“Because Apple has not yet patched this latest vulnerability, iPad and iPhone users could be at risk from hackers if they chose to exploit the same vulnerability to install malicious code,” says Brett Myroff, CEO of regional Sophos distributor, Sophos South Africa.
“Cyber criminals would be able to create booby-trapped Web pages that could - if visited by an unsuspecting iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad owner - run code on visiting devices without the user's permission.”
Sophos's experts have added detection of the exploit code as Exp/PdfEx-ER, but as Apple does not allow anti-virus software to be listed in the official iPhone AppStore, there is no on-device protection available for users.
"A Web site like JailBreakMe is making it easy to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad - but it could also be giving a blueprint to malicious hackers on how to infect devices with malware. There are many cyber criminals who would love to infect iPhones and iPads, and eyes will now be turning towards Apple to see how quickly they can issue a patch for iOS to close this vulnerability," Myroff adds.
Share
Sophos South Africa
NetXactics, trading as Sophos South Africa, is a South African-based company focused on the provision of security solutions. It is the master distributor for UK-based Sophos, one of the leaders in the provision of network access control and endpoint, e-mail and Web security and control solutions for the corporate environment. For more information, visit Sophos South Africa at http://www.sophos.co.za.
Sophos
Sophos enables enterprises worldwide to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Our network access control, endpoint, Web and e-mail solutions simplify security to provide integrated defences against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, we protect over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with our reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognised for our high level of customer satisfaction, we have an enviable history of industry awards, reviews and certifications. Sophos is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Oxford, UK.
Editorial contacts