Rick Richardson's Views On Technology
  • Home
  • Blog

Dangerous New iPhone Hack

4/29/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
You might want to think twice before plugging your iPhone into a friend’s laptop for a quick charge. 
Security researchers have discovered an all-new type of iOS hack called “trustjacking” that uses a little-known Wi-Fi feature to access a device’s data, even when the targeted device isn’t in the same location anymore.

The hack works this way: 

             1) An iPhone user plugs into the USB port on a friend’s computer.

             2) iOS asks if you want to trust the computer and mentions that it will have access to your data.

             3) You can then enable iTunes Wi-Fi Sync from the PC giving the devices the ability to communicate
​                 anytime they’re on the same network. Hence the name “trustjacking.”

iTunes Wi-Fi Sync is a useful feature when you’re at home and connected to a network you trust. But researchers at Symantec say, “everything is possible,” as far as attacks go if you trust the wrong computer.

The Discovery of Trustjacking. “We discovered this by mistake actually,” said Symantec’s Adi Sharabani in an interview with Wired.” Roy was doing research, and he connected his iPhone to his computer to access it. But accidentally he realized that he was not connected to his own phone. He was connected to one of his team members’ phones who had connected their mobile device to Roy’s desktop a few weeks before. So, Roy started to dig into what exactly he could do and find out if he were an attacker.”

Once your iPhone is synced to a hostile computer, the attacker could install malware on your phone or initiate a backup to pull all your photos, apps and text messages. Hackers could also use the flaw to watch your screen in real-time and take screenshots that sync back to their computer.

The good news is researchers haven’t found any instances of trustjacking attacks out in the wild yet. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist though. Apple tweaked the Wi-Fi Sync feature with iOS 11 so that it asks for the device’s passcode before trusting. Researchers say Apple needs to do more though to let users see what networks they’ve given trust to. 

If you’re worried that you may have given a malicious computer access to your iPhone you can scrub all your connections by going to Settings >> General >> Reset >> Reset Location & Privacy.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Rick Richardson, CPA, CITP, CGMA

    Rick is the editor of the weekly newsletter, Technology This Week. You can subscribe to it by visiting the website.

    Rick is also the Managing Partner of Richardson Media & Technologies, LLC. Prior to forming his current company, he had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology.

    Mr. Richardson has been named to the "Technology 100"- the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America. He has also been honored by the American Institute of CPAs with two Lifetime Achievement awards and a Special Career Recognition Award for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology.

    In 2012, Rick was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. He has also been named to the 100 most influential individuals in the accounting profession in America by Accounting Today magazine.

    In 2017, Rick was inducted as a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achiever, a registry of professionals who have excelled in their fields for many years and achieved greatness in their industry.

    He is a sought after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators and students.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    Artificial Intelligence
    Audit
    Back Up
    Back-Up
    Blockchain
    Climate
    Cloud
    Collaboration
    Communication
    Coronavirus
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Digital Assistant
    Display
    Drone
    Edge Computing
    Education
    Enterprise
    Hardware
    Home Automation
    Internet Of Things
    Law
    Medicine
    Metaverse
    Mobile
    Mobile Payments
    Open Source
    Personalization
    Power
    Privacy
    Quantum Computing
    Remote Work
    Retail
    Robotics
    Security
    Software
    Taxes
    Transportation
    Wearables
    Wi Fi
    Wi-Fi

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.