Researchers at the Black Hat security conference on Thursday showed how an attacker could spoof a type of SMS message that appears to be sent from the carrier or some other trusted source.
This attack on MMS (multimedia messaging service) messages, a type of SMS message, could allow an attacker to trick the recipient into visiting a malicious Web site or ultimately do something else to harm the phone or steal data.
The attacks work potentially on any type of phone that is MMS-enabled and operating on Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks, said Zane Lackey, a senior consultant at ISEC Partners, and independent researcher Luis Miras.
They used a jailbroken iPhone for their demos of their proof-of-concept code that allows for bypassing carrier protections for SMS communications by sending specially crafted MMS messages.
SMS communications are used by carriers to do administration on the phone and contact customers. For example, voice mail notifications are often delivered over SMS, according to Lackey.
:source: News Source: Cnet
UPDATE:
Another SMS hack that could be used to send messages, or generally do anything on another person's iPhone has been fixed by Apple and owners should consider updating immediatly by connecting it to their computers. Rumours suggest that this update will undo any jailbreaks so if you have already crossed that line, be aware!
This attack on MMS (multimedia messaging service) messages, a type of SMS message, could allow an attacker to trick the recipient into visiting a malicious Web site or ultimately do something else to harm the phone or steal data.
The attacks work potentially on any type of phone that is MMS-enabled and operating on Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks, said Zane Lackey, a senior consultant at ISEC Partners, and independent researcher Luis Miras.
They used a jailbroken iPhone for their demos of their proof-of-concept code that allows for bypassing carrier protections for SMS communications by sending specially crafted MMS messages.
SMS communications are used by carriers to do administration on the phone and contact customers. For example, voice mail notifications are often delivered over SMS, according to Lackey.
:source: News Source: Cnet
UPDATE:
Another SMS hack that could be used to send messages, or generally do anything on another person's iPhone has been fixed by Apple and owners should consider updating immediatly by connecting it to their computers. Rumours suggest that this update will undo any jailbreaks so if you have already crossed that line, be aware!
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