Jailbroken iPhones threatened by new worm

Have a jailbroken iPhone?

If you answered yes, you could be at risk for a new, malicious worm that is spreading and takes over your phone without your permission or knowledge. Sound horrible?

That’s because it is.

Reports out of Apple Insider are saying that right now affected users are only in the hundreds but that the problem could make a sudden jump to thousands of peoples phones and so on. Right now the problem is apparently, as of right now, only affecting people in the Netherlands and people who bank using ING Direct.

Yeah, weird.

Here is how it works; I couldn’t explain it any better:

The worm only affects jailbroken phones that have SSH (secure shell) installed, without the default password -- "alpine" -- changed. It employs the same method as a previous worm, Ikee, that was not malicious. Instead, the wallpaper-changing prank simply changed the user's background to a picture of 1980s pop star Rick Astley, who sang the 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up."

I always thought getting Rickrolled was pretty malicious.

Anyways, the only way you’re getting this worm is if you jailbroke your phone and I’m sure there are more than a few of you out there. No telling if it’s going to spread, but it’s better to be aware than in the dark.

Be careful.