Security

Apple's iPhone Not as Safe as Mac OS

There are patches for the MAC OS, but not for the iPhone

By George Craciun, Security News Editor

4th of July 2008, 14:56 GMT

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The latest iPhone update is from February

The iPhone and the Mac OS are not too far apart; both are Apple products and both use the same operating system, just that the iPhone's is more basic. In terms of security updates and patches, the

iPhone is seriously deficitary - the latest update is four months old, it is from February! The device is set up to update regularly and it does so every time you access iTunes, just that there are no updates to download.

Here is Charlie Miller's explanation, as cited by the Washington Post: "Apple should either update their software like they do with the core operating system, or otherwise don't advertise the fact that the iPhone checks for updates every week. Right now, an iPhone user is going to think they're up-to-date because there's no patch available, but the reality is that users are only as secure as they were back in February".

The software version used by Apple's iPhones is 1.1.4, which indeed is the latest. But a vulnerability has been discovered in the Safari web browser which the device uses, way back in March, and a fix was issued in April, but for the Mac OS, not for the iPhone.

Because the iPhone software has not been updated or patched since February, it is vulnerable to attacks. Charlie Miller has already come up with a way of hacking into the iPhone and stealing the data within, data such as contacts info, call records, messages. His hack also allows him to send SMS messages or make phone calls without the iPhone user even noticing it. What does the user have to do in order to be hacked? It is as simple as clicking on a link!

There is one possible explanation to Apple's apathetic response to the problem: it is channeling all its energy into launching iPhone 2.0 which will hit the market on the 11th of July.

TAGS:

iPhone | Apple | Mac OS

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