The real test of Apple's mettle in this situation isn't going to be whether or not bugs or holes like this are found on their new and innovative phones, but how efficiently the holes are effectively plugged. Knowing Apple, they'll probably be able to push out a fix to all the existing iPhones (rather than making their owners jump through hoops by having to download files and install them).
One of the features I enjoy with my Treo 700p with Sprint is that I can dial *2 and if there is an update available for my phone service, it is detected automagically and downloaded to my phone right there. That's the kind of low-hassle, hi-tech fix that can make a customer want to stay with a provider for a while (aka: create "stickiness").
If this is a real iPhone security issue, I'll be interested to see how what the average iPhone user has to do in order to fix it on their own iPhone.
Link: IPhone Flaw Lets Hackers Take Over, Security Firm Says - New York Times.
A team of computer security consultants say they have found a flaw in Apple’s wildly popular iPhone that allows them to take control of the device.
The researchers, working for Independent Security Evaluators, a company that tests its clients’ computer security by hacking it, said that they could take control of iPhones through a WiFi connection or by tricking users into going to a Web site that contains malicious code. The hack, the first reported, allowed them to tap the wealth of personal information the phones contain.
Although Apple built considerable security measures into its device, said Charles A. Miller, the principal security analyst for the firm, “Once you did manage to find a hole, you were in complete control.” The firm, based in Baltimore, alerted Apple about the vulnerability this week and recommended a software patch that could solve the problem.
A spokeswoman for Apple, Lynn Fox, said, “Apple takes security very seriously and has a great track record of addressing potential vulnerabilities before they can affect users.”
