For the third time in a matter of weeks, jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches have come under attack, this time by a worm that could set up botnets and steal banking information.
Security researchers, already on alert as a result of the two previous attacks on jailbroken iPhones, jumped on the worm right away.
"This is one of the first, if not the first, mobile botnets ever," Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, told MacNewsWorld. "It clearly shows that the more criminal elements are entering the mobile space and targeting mobile phones."
More attacks targeting jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches may surface soon. "The problem of poorly secured jailbroken iPhones is so well-known now that it would be a surprise if we didn't see any more malware targeting the platform," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
While some attacks could be launched with criminal intent -- like the latest worm, dubbed the "Duh" worm by Sophos researcher Paul Ducklin -- others might be created by hobbyist hackers and "script kiddies" -- novices who want to play with code for less nefarious purposes, Cluley told MacNewsWorld.
There's no way to prevent these attacks because Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) won't work with antivirus vendors, F-Secure's Hypponen said. "We can't build an antivirus product for the iPhone without Apple's help and, so far, Apple hasn't seen security as a problem because there are no Apple viruses," he explained.
"Even this worm is not seen as a problem because it only affects jailbroken iPhones."
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