iOS exposes a super vulnerability: both the iphone and the ipad could be hacked

Internet security researchers have warned that Apple's iOS operating system makes most iphones and ipads vulnerable to hacking attacks, which seek to crack iOS devices to gain sensitive information and control these devices. FireEye, a cyber-security firm, published in Monday on its blog details of the iOS vulnerability, saying hackers could be able to lure users into installing malicious applications containing poisoned text messages, e-mails and web links to hack into iOS devices. Hackers can then use malicious applications to replace authentic applications (such as e-mail and bank-related programs) that are installed through Apple's App Store, and to embed malware by FireEye called Mask Attack (Masque Attack) technology. FireEye said the attack could be used to steal bank account or email login passwords or other sensitive data. FireEye's research has made it highly respected in the cyber-security industry, Wei Tao, a senior research scientist, said in an interview: "This is a very powerful loophole and it is easy to exploit." Apple officials have yet to comment. Wei Tao said FireEye had disclosed the loophole to Apple in July and said Apple's representative had said it was working to fix the loophole. Wei Tao also said last month that news about the loophole began to leak out on a number of specialized web forums that network security experts and hackers used to discuss Apple's vulnerabilities. Wei Tao said FireEye decided to publish the findings to the public because Palo Alto network (Palo Alto NX) last week discovered the first attack to exploit the vulnerability, In this attack, hackers used a new so-called WireLurker malware, which can infect Macs as well as iOS devices. Wei Tao said FireEye did not know if any other hacker attacks had exploited the loophole. "At the moment WireLurker is only the only malware found, but there will be more in the future," he said. FireEye recommends that iOS users download installation apps only through Apple's official App Store, and do not click the Install button that pops up from a third-party Web page. FireEye said the company found this vulnerability in the iOS 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, and 8.1 beta editions, both jailbreak and non-jailbreak versions.