Hackers discover iOS 6 exploit, may be present in iPhone 5

Smartphone vendors try to up the ante on the security of their devices every time they release a new one. However, skilled hackers nearly always outdo these vendors by somehow finding an exploit in these devices.

Pwn2Own is a hacking contest that has been an annual gathering of the best hacking minds from around the world. It has been happening for the last six years. This year’s Pwn2Own was just days ahead of Apple’s iPhone 5 launch event. And at the contest, hackers were able to find an important exploit in iOS 6.

The fact that iPhone 5 also runs iOS 6 makes it likely that this new vulnerability found by the hackers may also be present in iPhone 5. According to one of the contest winners, “We specifically chose this one because it was present in iOS 6 which means the new iPhone coming out will be vulnerable to this attack.”

All it took the hackers was three weeks to find out this vulnerability in iOS 6 and then procure an appropriate exploit to work with it. However, that does not mean that iPhone 5 is not a secure device to use. In fact, the winner of the Pwn2Own contest stated that he believed iPhone to be the most secure smartphone on the market.

Salman Latif
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: iPhone 5