iPhone Hacking

The year 2017 was the year of Qi wireless charging for Apple devices. Much of the buzz surrounding the iPhone 8 and iPhone X revolves around the additions of a built-in charging receiver and glass back. While the simplest way to get Qi charging is to upgrade, iPhone owners may not want to spend the money. Luckily, for those with earlier model iPhones there is a cheap way to try wireless charging with your existing iPhone.

A group of researchers has demonstrated how to compromise an iOS device with a malicious charger at this year's Black Hat convention in Las Vegas. The malware injection is effortless and hides itself in the same way that Apple hides stock apps. According to Reuters, there is no need to worry since the threat will be neutralized by Apple in iOS 7.

Spokesman Tom Neumayr said the problem was fixed in the upcoming release of iOS 7 and Apple "would like to thank the researchers for their valuable input." The update will warn users with a pop up message whenever the iOS device is connected to a computer. This is important, because in the demo an innocent-looking USB charger was actually a small linux computer in disguise, loaded with malware.

Ever borrowed an iPhone USB charger from a stranger? Watch out. Now a Georgia Institute of Technology research team has proven that a specially designed charger can inject malware into your iOS device effortlessly in under a minute. At least that's the result of their research to create a proof-of-concept malicious accessory, to be fully revealed at the Black Hat security conference this July.

The research abstract briefly describes "how USB capabilities can be leveraged to bypass [USB] defense mechanisms." Not only this, but the malware is disguised once installed to hide itself "in the same way Apple hides its own built-in applications." In case you were wondering, the experiment was performed with the latest and greatest version of iOS.