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iPhone SMS patch to be ready by Saturday?

updated 12:40 pm EDT, Fri July 31, 2009

iPhone SMS patch on Sat.?


A new iPhone security update should be available on Saturday, claims a spokesperson for the device's UK carrier, O2. "We will be communicating to customers both through the website and proactively," the spokesperson says. Apple has not announced or previewed any iPhone firmware update beyond the major iPhone 3.1 release.

The company could be willing to post an intermediary update, however, to counter an SMS vulnerability exposed at this week's Black Hat security conference. By sending out modified text messages, presenters noted, it should be possible to disable or control a distant iPhone, all without alerting a user to a hacker's presence. The vulnerability exists not just on the iPhone, but also on devices running Android or Windows Mobile.

Fixes are said to be possible either through an operating system update, or else active message scanning on the part of a carrier. O2 suggests that Apple has gone the former route, while the BBC reports that Google has already produced an Android fix. No Apple statement has been offered on the issue.


by MacNN Staff

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Comments

  1. TiberiusMonkey

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2008

    +2

    All week.

    All I've heard all week online has been "iPhone security hole this, and "iPhone security hole" that, when the fact of the matter is (as this report said) it effects plenty of other phones as well.

    Glad to see that Apple appear to be dealing with the issues though.

  1. dliup

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2006

    +4

    yup

    It's a SMS security hole which impacts every single cell phone, but they'll get more attention by name dropping apple iphone. iPhone iphone, iphone. oh wait...

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