A security flaw in Apple Inc's iPhone allows unauthorized users to gain easy access to private contacts and e-mails even when the device is locked, but the company said a fix is on the way.
Popular technology blog Gizmodo and an online forum run by the Mac Rumors site showed that it took only three taps to gain access to locked iPhones, which run the latest 2.02 iPhone software.
A spokeswoman said in an e-mail that Apple was aware of the problem and was readying a software update to fix it. In the meantime, she recommended users set the iPhone's "Home" button to open up the phone's iPod music collection rather than the phone's "Favorites" menu.
The spokeswoman did not say when the software update would be made available. The flaw could be seen as a momentary setback in Apple's ambitious plans to compete against Research In Motion, whose BlackBerry smartphone has become a standard issue device in corporate businesses around the globe.
Earlier in August, technology research firm Gartner issued a report that said iPhone's software had met Gartner's minimum requirements for business support, although some issues persisted. The author of the report, Ken Dulaney, was not immediately reachable.
Last week, Apple released a software update for the iPhone that reportedly helped fix problems connecting to faster third-generation (3G) wireless networks, after receiving a flurry of online complaints from customers around the world.
Apple, which started selling the new 3G iPhone on July 11, has said it expected to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Derek Caney)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Airtel techies dare iPhone hackers
When it comes to iPhone hackers, techies at Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel expect to have the last laugh. They claim even the most deadly hackers on the planet won’t be able to crack the codes that support the iPhone’s Airtel applications with rival company SIMs.
So, even if a hacker manages to make voice calls from an Airtel iPhone using the SIM of a rival GSM operator, he would be denied access to both exclusive icons – ‘Airtel Live’ and ‘Airtel Apps’-- which are gateways to the full spectrum of Airtel applications built into the iconic gizmo.
This means a potential hacker of an Apple iPhones procured from Airtel won’t get to access to either content or entertainment features on Airtel Live -- a customised portal designed purely for Airtel subscribers.
With no access to Airtel Live, he can’t access any text, audio, video, static images, music or gaming options available on the preloaded Airtel Live portal application.
Neither does he get to use the powerful Google search engine.
Worse, the hacker also draws a blank if he tries activating any super secure applications like mobile payment (m-Check) that can otherwise be accessed by Airtel users by clicking the ‘Airtel Apps’ icon on the iPhone.
m-Check, would typically enable a user to manage his Airtel account or even do money transfers from his iPhone. Confirming this, Bharti Airtel’s IT director Jai Menon, who is also chief information officer (CIO) of Bharti Enterprises told, “Even if a hacker figures out a way to make voice calls from an iPhone procured from our stores using a non-Airtel SIM, he will not be able to access any of the ‘Airtel Live’ or ‘Airtel Apps’ features built into all the iPhones sold by Airtel.
We’ve built in suitable levels of security to ensure both applications remain out of bounds for hackers. All iPhones distributed by Airtel will run on OSX (Version 2) OS which also powers Apple notebooks worldwide.”
He adds, “Airtel’s IT group has worked with Apple for over a year to uniquely evolve a bunch of operator-specific applications on the iPhone. In fact, Airtel is perhaps the only mobile operator besides Australia’s Optus that has evolved operator-specific applications on Apple’s iconic phone.”
Incidentally, “developing operator-specific iPhone applications was pretty much a stealth exercise that transpired by leveraging Airtel’s service delivery platform, which is a $100 million tech initiative,” said Menon.
So, even if a hacker manages to make voice calls from an Airtel iPhone using the SIM of a rival GSM operator, he would be denied access to both exclusive icons – ‘Airtel Live’ and ‘Airtel Apps’-- which are gateways to the full spectrum of Airtel applications built into the iconic gizmo.
This means a potential hacker of an Apple iPhones procured from Airtel won’t get to access to either content or entertainment features on Airtel Live -- a customised portal designed purely for Airtel subscribers.
With no access to Airtel Live, he can’t access any text, audio, video, static images, music or gaming options available on the preloaded Airtel Live portal application.
Neither does he get to use the powerful Google search engine.
Worse, the hacker also draws a blank if he tries activating any super secure applications like mobile payment (m-Check) that can otherwise be accessed by Airtel users by clicking the ‘Airtel Apps’ icon on the iPhone.
m-Check, would typically enable a user to manage his Airtel account or even do money transfers from his iPhone. Confirming this, Bharti Airtel’s IT director Jai Menon, who is also chief information officer (CIO) of Bharti Enterprises told, “Even if a hacker figures out a way to make voice calls from an iPhone procured from our stores using a non-Airtel SIM, he will not be able to access any of the ‘Airtel Live’ or ‘Airtel Apps’ features built into all the iPhones sold by Airtel.
We’ve built in suitable levels of security to ensure both applications remain out of bounds for hackers. All iPhones distributed by Airtel will run on OSX (Version 2) OS which also powers Apple notebooks worldwide.”
He adds, “Airtel’s IT group has worked with Apple for over a year to uniquely evolve a bunch of operator-specific applications on the iPhone. In fact, Airtel is perhaps the only mobile operator besides Australia’s Optus that has evolved operator-specific applications on Apple’s iconic phone.”
Incidentally, “developing operator-specific iPhone applications was pretty much a stealth exercise that transpired by leveraging Airtel’s service delivery platform, which is a $100 million tech initiative,” said Menon.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
iPod battery catches fire
Japan is investigating a possible battery defect in the popular iPod Nano music player after reports that two overheated in Tokyo, scorching nearby paper and a woven straw mat, a government official said Tuesday. No one was injured, and there was no further damage, said Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official Hiroyuki Yoshitsune. The latest problem follows a similar ministry report in March about sparks shooting out of an iPod Nano, he said. The government has been working with Apple Inc. to investigate the cause, and a defect in the lithiuim-ion battery is suspected in all three cases, he said. The iPods began to overheat while they were being recharged, he said. He declined to disclose the manufacturers of the batteries, and said it was unclear whether the same battery was being packaged in the product, which is sold all over the world. Apple Japan did not have immediate comment. Yoshitsune said the two latest cases involved an iPod Nano, model number MA099, which singed nearby paper in August, and model MA005, which burned a Japanese traditional "tatami" mat, in January. Both players were twisted out of shape from the heat and became unusable, he said. Other details weren't available. The government has instructed Apple Japan to find out the cause of the problems and report back to the government. Lithium-ion batteries have been blamed for a series of blazes in laptops that have resulted in massive global recalls. Apple's iPod players are extremely popular in Japan and coveted as fashion items although Japanese manufacturers produce a host of iPod rivals. The Japan introduction of the iPhone, also from Cupertino, California-based Apple, drew long lines last month. |
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Hackers snoop on mobile phones
Planning to buy that fancy smart phone? A word of caution: Internet-enabled phones have gaping security weaknesses waiting to be exploited, warn cyber security experts. Any smart phone — including Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and Symbian phones — can be hacked by a nerd with a little bit of code and some cunning.
And they don't stop at data and identity theft alone. Nor are they content with unleashing viruses on the operating system of your mobile. (Even Bluetooth makes your phone a potential target here.) New Age mischief makers have learnt how to bug your phone and remote-control it. They can steal your bank information, send out a mischievous SMS to your girlfriend (who might just dump you!), copy your top-secret files or simply spy on every call/SMS you make from your phone. In fact, they can even 'modify' your SMSes before these are sent out to your contacts — and you wouldn't even know it.
That's not all. Hackers can also use your phone to spy on you by switching it on. They can activate the camera and eavesdrop on your discussions during a business meeting, or while you are secretly negotiating a lucrative job offer with a rival company. What's more, they can even do an audio/video recording by sending an SMS command.
If you thought all this sounds too far-fetched, think again. Cellphone users in the US are already battling with the problem — 200 mobile viruses are on the loose and more are being spawned every day, says TowerGroup, a US-based research firm.
India, too, is a prime target. Instances of mobile viruses are already rampant and experts say the threat is only going to get worse in a market growing at 11.75% per annum. On last count, there were over 261.07 million mobile connections across the country: more than 50% phones being used are smart phones.
No wonder companies that track internet and mobile security are worried. "Smart phones are easy targets for hackers. And studies show the threat is doubling every six months in India," says Anand Naik, director, Symantec India.
How do they do it? The tactics have evolved with the technology. In 2002, IBM researchers found that a cellphone's security card could be cloned in minutes. A hacker could make calls and route charges to the victim's account. The hacking technique, known as a partitioning attack, analyses power fluctuations in a phone's SIM card, allowing the attacker to read the security codes stored inside.
However, the technique only worked on GSM phones and required that the attacker have access to the phone for at least a few minutes. But hackers have become smarter. Now they simply send a spyware or snoopware through an SMS/MMS or GPRS, email or Bluetooth.
"The message can even be disguised as an SMS from the service provider. The moment you click on it the spyware/virus gets activated. It starts working quietly and the user has no clue that someone is tapping everything he does. Once the virus is in, it can block/modify SMSes, intercept calls, upload data, delete or copy the address book," says Rajat Khare, CEO, Appin Group, an information security company. Spam and SMiShing (SMS phishing) are also beginning to make their way into smart phones.
So what should a user do? A few simple steps could go a long way. Adopt a multi-layered security approach. Protect mobile devices with antivirus, firewall, anti-SMS spam, and data encryption technologies and install regular security updates to protect phones from viruses and other malware. And yes, don't click blindly on any SMS, for someone may just be spying on you on the sly.
And they don't stop at data and identity theft alone. Nor are they content with unleashing viruses on the operating system of your mobile. (Even Bluetooth makes your phone a potential target here.) New Age mischief makers have learnt how to bug your phone and remote-control it. They can steal your bank information, send out a mischievous SMS to your girlfriend (who might just dump you!), copy your top-secret files or simply spy on every call/SMS you make from your phone. In fact, they can even 'modify' your SMSes before these are sent out to your contacts — and you wouldn't even know it.
That's not all. Hackers can also use your phone to spy on you by switching it on. They can activate the camera and eavesdrop on your discussions during a business meeting, or while you are secretly negotiating a lucrative job offer with a rival company. What's more, they can even do an audio/video recording by sending an SMS command.
If you thought all this sounds too far-fetched, think again. Cellphone users in the US are already battling with the problem — 200 mobile viruses are on the loose and more are being spawned every day, says TowerGroup, a US-based research firm.
India, too, is a prime target. Instances of mobile viruses are already rampant and experts say the threat is only going to get worse in a market growing at 11.75% per annum. On last count, there were over 261.07 million mobile connections across the country: more than 50% phones being used are smart phones.
No wonder companies that track internet and mobile security are worried. "Smart phones are easy targets for hackers. And studies show the threat is doubling every six months in India," says Anand Naik, director, Symantec India.
How do they do it? The tactics have evolved with the technology. In 2002, IBM researchers found that a cellphone's security card could be cloned in minutes. A hacker could make calls and route charges to the victim's account. The hacking technique, known as a partitioning attack, analyses power fluctuations in a phone's SIM card, allowing the attacker to read the security codes stored inside.
However, the technique only worked on GSM phones and required that the attacker have access to the phone for at least a few minutes. But hackers have become smarter. Now they simply send a spyware or snoopware through an SMS/MMS or GPRS, email or Bluetooth.
"The message can even be disguised as an SMS from the service provider. The moment you click on it the spyware/virus gets activated. It starts working quietly and the user has no clue that someone is tapping everything he does. Once the virus is in, it can block/modify SMSes, intercept calls, upload data, delete or copy the address book," says Rajat Khare, CEO, Appin Group, an information security company. Spam and SMiShing (SMS phishing) are also beginning to make their way into smart phones.
So what should a user do? A few simple steps could go a long way. Adopt a multi-layered security approach. Protect mobile devices with antivirus, firewall, anti-SMS spam, and data encryption technologies and install regular security updates to protect phones from viruses and other malware. And yes, don't click blindly on any SMS, for someone may just be spying on you on the sly.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Sony Ericsson launches first 'radio' mobile phone
Sony Ericsson on Thursday launched its first made in India mobile phone R300 radio phone.
The phone targets the entry level customers in small town. The handset comes with a unique radio-inspired design with volume boosters for clarity of sound Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications General Manager Sudhin Mathur told media persons.
Alongwith the FM frequency channels the phone also comes with AM frequencies, a first for radio phones in India. This is Sony Ericsson's attempt to address the needs of its customers in tier 2 markets, Mathur said.
R300 Radio is priced at Rs 4,395 he said. "We are witnessing unprecedented growth in smaller towns and cities and plan to increase our geographic presence in such places with the launch of the Radio phone R300.
"The growing popularity of the radio in the tier-two and tier-three cities has created a tremendous opportunity for penetrating such markets and we are confident that our new offering will be well received by our customers", Mathur said.
Further strengthening their position in Radio category handsets, the company will launch R306 model with 1.3 mega pixed camera priced at Rs 6,000, Mathur said.
The phone targets the entry level customers in small town. The handset comes with a unique radio-inspired design with volume boosters for clarity of sound Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications General Manager Sudhin Mathur told media persons.
Alongwith the FM frequency channels the phone also comes with AM frequencies, a first for radio phones in India. This is Sony Ericsson's attempt to address the needs of its customers in tier 2 markets, Mathur said.
R300 Radio is priced at Rs 4,395 he said. "We are witnessing unprecedented growth in smaller towns and cities and plan to increase our geographic presence in such places with the launch of the Radio phone R300.
"The growing popularity of the radio in the tier-two and tier-three cities has created a tremendous opportunity for penetrating such markets and we are confident that our new offering will be well received by our customers", Mathur said.
Further strengthening their position in Radio category handsets, the company will launch R306 model with 1.3 mega pixed camera priced at Rs 6,000, Mathur said.
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