IPHONE HACKED IN 60 SECONDS BY MODIFIED CHARGER

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Researchers have reportedly been able to install dangerous hacking software onto an iPhone in less than a minute using a modified charger.

The team at the Georgia Institute of Technology intend to showcase the charger at the Black Hat 2013 hacker conference in July.

According to their description of the presentation, they were able to hack any iOS device using just the modified cable.

By plugging the cable into the iPhone or iPad, they could break Apple’s security measures and install new programs on the device. Those applications could present innumerable security threats, such as capturing data sent to and from the phone, including passwords and account details.

“Apple iOS devices are considered by many to be more secure than other mobile offerings. In evaluating this belief, we investigated the extent to which security threats were considered when performing everyday activities such as charging a device,” said the team, made up of Billy Lau, Yeongjin Jang and Chengyu Song.

“The results were alarming: despite the plethora of defense mechanisms in iOS, we successfully injected arbitrary software into current-generation Apple devices running the latest operating system (OS) software. All users are affected, as our approach requires neither a jailbroken device nor user interaction.”
The team said they built the charger using a BeagleBoard, a small computer similar to a Raspberry Pi.

They explain:

“To demonstrate practical application of these vulnerabilities, we built a proof of concept malicious charger, called Mactans, using a BeagleBoard. This hardware was selected to demonstrate the ease with which innocent-looking, malicious USB chargers can be constructed.
While Mactans was built with limited amount of time and a small budget, we also briefly consider what more motivated, well-funded adversaries could accomplish. Finally, we recommend ways in which users can protect themselves and suggest security features Apple could implement to make the attacks we describe substantially more difficult to pull off.”

HOW TO GET IOS 7 BETA?

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To the delight of fanatic Apple users, the giant company released the beta version of the brand new and advanced iOS 7. But before you jump to test the rivers, we should offer a word of caution that although Apple has a reputation for releasing the ever so polished beta versions, the latest iOS 7 might just be battery hungry and a kin of bug-bunny. Hence, do not use it for your daily devices.

Quite the claims of certain developers that if you download the iOS 7, there is no turning back, we would like you to know that you can easily restore back to iOS 6, if you dint so much like the iOS 7. Read below if you wish to know the bullet proof way to upgrade to or downgrade from the iOS 7.

Installing iOS7
What you require?

 

  • Before upgrading the system to iOS 7, you would need an access to iOS developer account
  •  A fifth generation iPod Touch, or iPhone 5, 4S or 4
  • The model number of the device and it’s UDID – unique device identifier
  • Computer with the latest update of iTunes installed
  • IPSW file of iOS 7 beta
  • iOS 6 IPSW file, if you require restoring a stable version

 

How to Install iOS7 Beta
 
 
 
Log in to the iOS developer account and download the install files required for the process. Note: only grab those files which are required for your specific device and model number. The iOS 7 beta will be packaged as .dmg file, up for download; also, it will be wise to download a stable version of iOS 6 simultaneously. The installation requires you to register the UDID lest the download won’t work.
    Now, open the .dmg file of iOS 7. It should swell itself automatically if you are a Mac user. The Windows users are required to extract the .jpsw file residing inside the .dmg one. Once through, connect the device with computer and if an automatic launch does not take place, access it by the iPhone dialog in iTunes. Also, at this stage perform a backup manually by clicking “Back Up Now” as the installation will wipe off the storage of the device, and the backup would be required to restore the same.
  If you have followed this far, now only the installation process is left. If you are a Mac user, just press the Option key and click “Restore iPhone”. Windows users should press the Shift key instead, and open the iOS 7 .jpsw file extracted earlier. Click Restore, when the system asks for a confirmation for restoring the devices. This might take some time, so be patient. Lastly, after the installation and the restarting of your phone, you will be given the option to set your phone anew or restore an existing backup. If you want to restore the backup, stay connected to iTunes and access the backup created earlier.
Downgrading back to iOS6

Now, if the new iOS 7 keeps giving you an uncomfortable itch, each time you unlock the phone or open the devices, you can easily change it back to iOS 6. Here’s how: …Before we begin, are you certain? There is a limitation with trying to downgrade the system back to iOS 6 and we would like you to be certain prior to initiating the process.
The downgrading will only get you to the latest version update of iOS, i.e. 6.1.4 for iPhone 5 users and 6.1.3 for iPhone 4S. Besides, you will not be able to use iOS 7 backup on an iOS 6 device, and would not be able to recover any jailbreaks. If you still want to continue, read ahead: How to downgrade to iOS 6 from iOS 7 Start with downloading the most recent firmware file from Our Downloads and save it on a place easy to access, perhaps the desktop. Then launch iTunes on your Mac or PC. Now, plug in your device and put it in DFU mode. Ensure that the screen is not connected to iTunes but is black instead, which confirms the DFU more. You will get a pop up message saying “the device can’t be used until it’s restored.” Click Ok and continue. Now, press hold of the Alt / Option key (or the Shift key for the PC users) and click on Restore iPhone in iTunes. Reach the firmware file saved in first step and click open. Now, let iTunes take care of the rest and if you have done everything right, you will get back to your iOS 6 in no time. Done successfully with upgrading or downgrading the iOS?
Share your experiences with us in the comments below.
About The Author: Rick Brown is an acclaimed tech blogger

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