Apple confirmed today that a security flaw in the current iPhone software will be fixed in an upcoming software update scheduled to be released in September.
“
The minor iPhone security issue which surfaced this week is fixed in a software update which will be released in September,” Apple representative, Jennifer Bowcock, said in an email to
Macworld .
I keep a lot of personal information on my iPhone that I don't want just anyone to have access to, so I've set the Passcode Lock option in Settings with the hope that it will keep my information from prying eyes for the most part if it's misplaced or gets stolen. And I also have my Home Button shortcut set to go to my Favorites in the phone app. It's this very combination that reveals a security flaw where the passcode lock in firmware 2.0.2 can be bypassed, allowing access to your favorite contacts and email accounts. Not good.
You can see the demonstration of how this can be done in a
video over at Gizmodo, but here's how it works:
- After sliding to unlock, select Emergency Call on the passcode entry screen.
- Double-click on the home button, and the phone Favorites list will appear.
- Click on the blue arrow to the right of a Favorites entry to see the full information for that contact.
- Click on an email address for that contact and you'll be taken to a new message in the Mail application.
- Cancel out of the new email and you'll see the full list of email accounts, which can be accessed fully.
Crazy, isn't it? I'm setting my home button shortcut to something else, effective immediately. Granted, this doesn't allow access to everything on your iPhone, but it's far more than I'm comfortable with. Chances are that someone who finds or steals your iPhone won't know about this particular security flaw, so it's probably not something for you to worry about regularly. Unfortunately, my luck isn't so good and my iPhone would probably fall into the hands of a thief well-versed in the flaws of the iPhone. Hopefully, Apple will recognize this and address it in the next firmware version...
Via [Gizmodo ]
