The popularity of iOS devices is not putting Apple on the hot seat Microsoft has been on for years. Despite popular belief Apple products do have security holes and are subject hacks. When I frist saw the Jailbreakme.com site I wondered how long it would take for someone to exploit the vulnerability. The weak link here is reading a PDF on your device.
“It just requires the user to visit a web address using Safari. The web site can automatically load a simple PDF document, which contains a font that hides a special program,” writes Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz. “When your iOS device tries to display the PDF file, that font causes something called stack overflow, a technical condition that allows the secret ninja code inside the font to gain complete control of your device.”
I suspect Apple will be patching this hole soon but viewing a webpage lets someone take full control of your phone just sounds nasty. This is not the first security flaw in iOS and it won’t be the last. I hope this is not a sign of things to come.
[Via Venture Beat]