iPhone, iPad security loophole found
2011-07-08 11:01
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Cape Town - A German agency has found a critical vulnerability in the operating system that runs Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.
"Apple takes security very seriously. We're aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update," said Trudy Muller, an Apple spokesperson.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the German Federal Office for Information Security warned users that surfing to a web page or opening a PDF may allow hackers to exploit the vulnerability.
It said that hackers may be able to access personal information, including banking data.
Many hackers use phishing websites to lure computer users to reveal usernames and passwords to banking information.
Security loopholes
Security firm Kaspersky Lab recently said that in the corporate environment, policy mistakes lead to security loopholes.
"So over the last 12 months, by actively engaging with our corporate users we have noticed that the majority of virus-related incidents occur due to underestimated design issues or unnoticed weaknesses in corporate security policies," said Alexey Polyakov, head of the Global Emergency Response Team at Kaspersky Lab.
Although this vulnerability has been identified, the report noted that no attacks have been observed.
Android, the mobile operating system from Google is not immune to security loopholes and companies race to produce software while criminals look to exploit vulnerabilities.
A security flaw allow hackers to access digital tokens that users might use to log in to Facebook and Twitter on Android devices, but a Google released a patch for the software.
Users of smart devices should avoid suspicious websites and opening executable attachments, especially from unknown senders.
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