Apple is pushing an update to its software for iOS devices that will help its users avoid falling victim to a vulnerability in their security that can be exploited with a booby-trapped charger.
The update has been prepared in response to a demonstration that gained a lot of attention at the Black Hat hacking convention in Las Vegas where security researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology showed how easily this flaw can be exploited. In under a minute the team had complete access to the phone's functions.
Apple's pending update warns users to be sure they are using a trusted charging station when the plug in their phones. According to BBC News, a small computer that will attack the device by copying a unique ID number that identifies that phone accompanies the custom built chargers, designed to hack the phones maliciously. From there a hacker needs only to use a tool on the developer's website that is often used to test new software for an iOS gadget.
The researchers at Georgia Tech demonstrated the flaw, after revealing it to Apple several weeks prior. It was done in the "white hat" hacking tradition, which is the process of finding security bugs in order to alert manufactures who can fix them before they are exploited by real criminals.
This is a particularly volatile time for such a glitch to be exploited as many businesses and cities are developing stations for people to charge their smartphones as an added appeal of visiting them. If the wrong hands were to get in on this new fad, it could be exploited and many people's emails, passwords and banking information could be at risk, just for trying to get a battery bump while waiting for their cup of coffee.
Apple assured users the problem was fixed in the iOS 7 beta, coming to users sometime this fall. However, the new update seems to be a patch for the meantime while phones can still be vulnerable.
