The world’s first iPhone virus known as Ikee and written by a 21-year-old Wollongong TAFE student has inspired a newer more malicious version that steals passwords and gives hackers complete control of the victim’s mobile.
The new virus, dubbed “Duh” after a section of its code, only affects iPhones that have been “jailbroken”, but security researchers from data protection company Sophos say the new version is far more sinister.
According a Sophos blog post, the new virus takes control of the phone and connects it to an “internet control and command centre” in Lithuania that allows hackers to issue commands to the device remotely.
The BBC reported that the virus was detected in the Netherlands, redirecting people who visit ING’s online banking site to a phoney look-alike designed to steal their passwords. ING told Reuters it was monitoring client accounts for suspicious transactions.
Paul Ducklin, Sophos’s head of technology for the Asia-Pacific region advised all iPhone owners to change the root password on their phones from the default setting of “alpine”.
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