“Apple’s reputation for bullet-proof security could soon be blown away, with the most high-profile attack targetting [sic] its coolest device – the iPhone,” David Flynn reports for APC Magazine.
MacDailyNews Take: Ooh, “blown away.” How terrifying. Please. Stop. Too scary.
Flynn continues, “An iPhone virus, spyware or other piece of malicious software is almost inevitable. ‘It’s 80-90% likely that we will see malware targetting the iPhone,’ predicts Patrik Runald, Security Response Manager for F-Secure Security Labs.”
MacDailyNews Take: Never fear, Runald has a potential “solution” to this terrifying threat: When Apple ships the iPhone SDK, anti-virus software peddler F-Secure “might develop anti-virus and security software to protect the iPhone.” No word, yet, on exactly how much they hope to rip-off from iPhone owners for such so-called “protection.”
Full article here.
really? and how (pray tell) does he see this happening?
…or is it better to ignore petty details when your job depends on it?
MW “pay” ironic.
It’s better to build the anti-virus software first and then come up with viruses to sell the software.
Shouldn’t it be F***-Secure
– we won’t make a profit if things are secure unless we can con people in to thinking they aren’t.
Becuz, ya know, we’se hate for anyting to happen to youse iPhone, isn’t dat right, Tony?
Key word here is likely – as in ‘it is likely one day that man will land on Mars’
in other words we haven’t found one yet but we are happy to take your money if you’re worried. ( PS. we offer no money back guarantee to prevent anything – so why invest ? ).
I think they’re trying to trick us.
Quick. Run. (Magic Word: before). they. get. you.
Just buy a XXXL condom, the ones manufactured in Nigeria, most inner-city drug stores carry them, and place your iPhone inside.
Instant protection.
Whole article seems to be, yet again, an argument from ubiquity. Sad.
I wonder….. Do they offer anti-malware products for Windows Mobile based phones?
@Wade: That doesn’t make sense. I don’t think “ubiquity” is the word you were looking for…
“Apple’s reputation for bullet-proof security could soon be blown away” because I just made it up. Aren’t I great!
‘It’s 80-90% likely that we will see malware targetting the iPhone,” says Patrik.
Ya think? It’s 100% likely that it will be targeted. But what’s the chance that they will succeed? That’s the only thing that’s important here . . .
If I got it right, the iPhone SDK will be for paying developers and every app will be inspected by Apple.
The inner “chambers” of the OS are pretty secure, since different levels and “areas” is split up into 256-bit encrypted Disk Images which are verified against the Apple-provided checksum, so if the Image has been altered, next time it won’t be mounted. Easier to create a Mac OS X virus than an iPhone virus.
I betcha that it would be a virus that doesn’t affect the iphone, or OSX, but might hit window by being spread through the iPhone. If that’s the case, imagine: your windows computer gets infected, but your iphone and other macs don’t. Do you ditch your iphone, or do you buy a mac?
Wade, you keep using that word, “ubiquity”.
I don’t think it means what you think it means.
I am so scared.
David Flynn, has exposed F-Secure as a 80%-90% bounty-coder.
MS is far more busy these days hiring security teams to write viruses just so Vista looks ok. Wow!
Hahahahah
OK. Let me be the first to say this. The first iPhone virus that finally proliferates the planet, I want someone to reverse engineer the crap out of it and see if anyone can see where it came from. If I see F-Secure’s or Symantec’s or any other anti-virus app’s fingerprints on that, I’ve got three words for you – class action lawsuit! You’ve been warned!
I like his comment about how now “normal” people are now buying Macs. Who does he think was buying them before?
Actually, it’s 100%. Since iPhone runs OS X, and there’s a trojan for OS X, it’s already been done. Doesn’t mean it can be transmitted easily, passed from PC/Mac to iPhone, or over mobile phone networks.
I don’t have much faith in F-secure since they missed the trojan which is already released (missed as in not even knowing about it).
@Reality Check
That doesn’t make sense. I don’t think “ubiquity” is the word you were looking for
Makes perfect sense, Windows is omnipresent, ubiquitous, therefore viruses and antivirus peddlers’ software are also ubiquitous.
At least I can be confident that my multi-layered and cryptic comments are missing the dull minds of those that lack read comprehension and lateral thinking. Just as well really or the rings may be a-quivering.
“@Wade: That doesn’t make sense. I don’t think “ubiquity” is the word you were looking for…”
Ubiquity is being all over the place- the argument is one of- there are no viruses for the Mac OS because it is not ubiquitous, and windoze is ubiquitous. Thus, the argument from ubiquity to explain the lack of Mac viruses.
The argument from ‘non-ubiquity’?
<b>I already compiled malware for the iPhone!</i>
But it needs Windows as a carrier.
Chances of seeing Jesus in my closet tonight: my guess is 13-17%
Think life is bad for Mac users? My Dad got a new PC (Dell) and tried to set up the Macaffee virus protection etc. It wouldn’t accept his old account info so he tried to contact them by phone. Never could get anyone. They offer a premium connection for a pound a minute but he isn’t going to do that. Nightmare.
I’m far more worried about extant Windows exploits that threaten my company’s infrastructure than any hypothetical iPhone exploits affecting the iPhones we’re already using for work. Why no similar, ongoing <i>sturm und drang</i> for Microsoft and their continuing ineptitude? Is it that Windows users and Windows-based IT departments just say to themselves, “This is the way it is, and it keeps us employed anyway”? You’d think that this “ZOMG the iPhone may one day get a virus” somehow outweighs the Windows’ insecurity and potentially (and proven) massive negative impact when it’s exploited yet again. I wonder how much companies lose because of botnets and damage caused by things like Storm? Shouldn’t F-Secure be railing against MS for their continuing shoddy work, rather than dreaming up hypothetical situations? Seems that if they’re hyping about potential problems with the iPhone, they should be screaming at the top of their lungs about existing problems with Windows.
(Thanks for correcting the article link, MDN.)
This is no brainer self-promotion. If they are wrong, they can continue to say next year and no one will deny them. If they are right, they become a prominent security specialist.
Meanwhile, I will continue to predict demise of Microsoft. Like Digital Research (CP/M), Apollo (Domain), Data General and DEC (VMS) before them, Microsoft will become another forgotten computer company within next ten years. I been saying it since 1990 is beside the point.