64% of iPhones vulnerable to the ‘User’ exploit
Last week we ran a web poll to ask how many of you would install unofficial applications on an iPhone (assuming you could get one), Nearly two thirds of the 232 replies (64%) said that they would.
This is surprising, because in order to install applications you need to bypass the security on the iPhone which is always risky (potentially turning your iPhone into an iBrick). More worrying is the fact that users are willing to bypass the security measures put in place and make themselves vulnerable to the same sort of social engineering as Mac users.
It would seem that the lure of ‘cool’ technology like the iPhone brings with it a desire to install ‘cool’ applications - one such program for the iPhone displays ants crawling over the screen which are squashed using the touch screen. Another involves a light saber sound emulator… you get the idea.
I can’t help but wonder whether such applications are just too much for 64% of iPhone users to resist, which highlights once again that the iPhone is still vulnerable to the most exploited vulnerability - the user.
Posted on November 12th, 2007 by Mark Harris, VP of SophosLabsFiled under: General
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