iPhones Have A Major Security Hole That Apple Installed On Purpose

If you use an iPhone or iPad, your photos, web history, and GPS logs are vulnerable to theft and surveillance via back-door protocols running on all iOS devices, according forensic scientist Jonathan Zdziarski, better known by the hacker moniker “NerveGas.”  In a security-conscious era, we’re used to hearing about zero-day exploits—newly-discovered security holes that can be used to steal personal data or snoop on unsuspecting users. But Zdziarski says the vulnerabilities he has discovered were intentionally installed by Apple and have existed for years.

The new allegations could have a major impact on Apple in China, where state-owned media have argued that the company’s ability to access user data makes the iPhone a national security risk. Apple responded to those claims by saying that it never “worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services.”  

In a presentation at the Hackers On Planet Earth conference on Friday, Zdziarski outlined his investigation of the undocumented services, as published in the March issue of Digitial Investigation (paywall). His conclusion: while iOS 7 security is pretty good overall, it has hidden back doors that could be exploited...