Many iPhone users jailbreak their devices to be able to further customize them. The move, however, seems to be what puts their devices at risk of being subjected to a massive hack on Apple. More than 225,000 Apple accounts have reportedly been stolen from iPhone users without them knowing. Now, researchers who are looking into the incident are warning iPhone owners for them to avoid being hacked.
Telegraph UK has reported that the hack has been caused by a malware found in the popular jailbreaking app Cydia. Weiptech and Palo Alto researchers have come up with the findings on Sunday, Aug. 30. The malware is called Keyraider, which targets the users' iTunes accounts and gets access to their payments for their purchases on iTunes.
According to website Wired, hijacking the transactions made with the iTunes accounts allows the hackers to install paid app downloads to the device. The Palo Alto Networks said that a paid app which allows users to install free apps has been found to be installed over 20,000 times in the stolen devices. The purchase, of course, is paid for by Keyraider victims, who know nothing of their accounts being hacked.
"The average iPhone user hasn't jailbroken their phone," says Ryan Olson of Palo Alto Networks. "If you've jailbroken your phone, you should worry about KeyRaider and a lot of other threats like it," he added. iPhones are equipped with restrictions and security settings of the iOS. Once jailbroken, these settings become obsolete, allowing users to access and install apps banned by the operating system.
Jailbreaking is done by many iPhone users to install apps more freely. The customization, however, puts their devices at risk of what has been called, "the largest known Apple account theft caused by Malware." Palo Alto Network also states that the Keyraider can lock iPhones and hold them ransom, which makes them totally unusable until paid for by the user.
The Palo Alto Network has released some measures to restore iPhone settings for devices which have been hacked. Apple has not released any statement regarding the issue. The company has been known to be one of the safest smart devices and has reported virtually no malware incidents since the first iPhone was released almost ten years ago.
