suzanne3382

Q: Can the iPhone5 be hacked remotely by a hacker?

I work for a technology company and one of our employees shared an incident about her iPhone5 being hacked remotely. The hacker gained access to her device overnight while her phone was unlocked. The hacker watched her baby monitor video feed from the baby monitoring app  (including taking pictures and video from the device), posted about the baby to her FB account, browsed on Safari, including some searches of French books on amazon and Scott Trading sites. When I spoke with the mobile device team, they were not familiar with any iOS security gaps that would allow a hacker to remotely gain control of an iPhone, however, the activities on her device suggest that this is possible.

 

I found some articles from 2009 regarding a SMS virus that allowed hackers to gain remote access to a device, however, our mobile device team is certain that this gap would be closed by now.

 

Is anyone familiar with an existing security gap on the iPhone5? What would you recommend would be the next action for her? She is intending to delete her icloud account, change all her passwords and wipe her device.

iPhone 5, iOS 6.1.1

Posted on Mar 19, 2013 1:23 PM

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Q: Can the iPhone5 be hacked remotely by a hacker?

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  • by benfromhunters hill,

    benfromhunters hill benfromhunters hill Sep 5, 2015 12:53 AM in response to benfromhunters hill
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 5, 2015 12:53 AM in response to benfromhunters hill

    Sorry , tried to edit my last post but was too late

     

    just wanted to make the correction ,as my comment above sounded arrogant. So  i might not win the argument , but by the same token   i don't believe with over 500 million iphones sold , millions of users of the gmail app , and apparently im the only person with   GmailHybrid.appcom.google.Gmail.ipa  ,or  do we all get custom versions of apps ??  LOL .  And ive got 10 other apps nobody else has , like   com.google.ios.youtube.ipa   , and loads of settings and other files that are all found on pastebin and other sites relating to hacking . And  as ive got loads of apple developer software on my PC ( that i didn't download or install as im not a developer )  and loads more warnings like this , I took my Iphone to the Apple store only a month ago and yet i still have unknown versions of apps on my iphone.

  • by Hemp360,

    Hemp360 Hemp360 Sep 6, 2015 9:26 AM in response to moienappleuser
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 6, 2015 9:26 AM in response to moienappleuser

    moienappleuser wrote:

     

    The same hacking happened to my iphone 5 last weekend (as described in chain, iMessges automatically get typed up with junk character and make-sense statements, Random apps opening up, camera open up, browser windows opens and typed in some url, not letting my iphone turn-off, finally managed to turn it off after multiple attempts), created a case with apple, spoke with three support guys (three of them two junior and one senior).  They are going to investigate on their end and getting back to me.

    This sounds like the result of Bendgate. Take your iphone out of it's case, lay it on a flat surface. Is it bent at all? This happened to me too! Not a hack, it's the result of your iphone 6 plus bending. Went to apple (guy tried to blame me) they checked for water damage and gave me a new iphone.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 6, 2015 11:31 AM in response to benfromhunters hill
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2015 11:31 AM in response to benfromhunters hill

    benfromhunters hill wrote:

     

    Well i can confirm you can be hacked on a not jail broken iphone ,

    If someone gets a hold of your phone, they can jailbreak it and hack it. Someone might even be able to trick you into jailbreaking your own phone. But, no, the iPhone can't be hacked remotely.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 6, 2015 11:32 AM in response to Hemp360
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2015 11:32 AM in response to Hemp360

    Hemp360 wrote:

     

    moienappleuser wrote:

     

    The same hacking happened to my iphone 5 last weekend (as described in chain, iMessges automatically get typed up with junk character and make-sense statements, Random apps opening up, camera open up, browser windows opens and typed in some url, not letting my iphone turn-off, finally managed to turn it off after multiple attempts), created a case with apple, spoke with three support guys (three of them two junior and one senior).  They are going to investigate on their end and getting back to me.

    This sounds like the result of Bendgate. Take your iphone out of it's case, lay it on a flat surface. Is it bent at all? This happened to me too! Not a hack, it's the result of your iphone 6 plus bending. Went to apple (guy tried to blame me) they checked for water damage and gave me a new iphone.

    That sounds like a bad digitizer which can be caused by a defect or by user damage such as bending it (no, phones don't spontaneously bend) or by getting them wet.

  • by manwithabicpen,

    manwithabicpen manwithabicpen Sep 15, 2015 8:19 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2015 8:19 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    I wonder if iPhone can be remote controlled. In this thread I saw many dismissive statements but here is my story. I have never been hacked before this year, I have used antivirus+firewall religiously on my PC forever, never downloaded crap and stayed away from shady websites. This changed this year (and all suspicions point to my cell phone). It started when I got a phone call from my bank saying that somebody was trying to change my online password and was not successful so I had to got my local branch and present two forms of id. I changed my password for the account and called it a day. Several days later I get 10 phone calls in quick succession (each quickly hung up) from the bank fraud department (I traced the phone to the bank fraud department, I would get a ring and then it would immediately hang up and then ring again) and then I got a notification from my iPhone 5c saying that my online banking password has been changed(notifications come from the online banking app). This time I around I changed my username and password. I did not opt to change my bank account information because I did not know where the "leakage came from". The interesting thing about the bank online password is that to change it, one needs to receive a code and it can only be received either by text to my cell phone or by email. My email accounts never had any emails pertaining to a code for password reset and would only get an email after it was changed, my cell phone would not receive any texts about it either. A week ago it happened again and I changed passwords and then it happened today. I know for a fact no password reset code was sent to my email because the email account would immediately send a push notification to my iPhone and I received no text messages about it either, just a push notification after it was changed. My password was not changed by customer service reps because I established several passwords they must ask which only I would know. Today when I called my bank, I was told that the bank software detected malware on my iPhone when it logged it into the mobile app. I asked about my pc and there were no issues. My PC I scanned with 3 different paid antiviruses+malwarebytes it always came clean. I forgot to mention that somebody ordered a new Samsung phone from my wireless account by removing a second line. I put an end to that too by establishing a password and a mandatory call in before new phones/lines can be established.

     

    Whoever this person is, they are doing this not for money(my bank account does not have much) but to terrorize me. It is as if they use my phone remotely to login into the app because even if you know the password if you login from an unkown IP you need a passcode for the system to recognize you. My phone never leaves my hands and I never go to public WIFI. So is it a digitizer problem too or maybe butt dialing? Previously I was of the opinion that viruses on cell phones were the problem of android users and people who were jailbreaking their iPhones. I am neither.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 15, 2015 8:30 PM in response to manwithabicpen
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2015 8:30 PM in response to manwithabicpen

    manwithabicpen wrote:

     

    Previously I was of the opinion that viruses on cell phones were the problem of android users and people who were jailbreaking their iPhones. I am neither.

    Nothing in your post indicates that your phone is the cause of this problem. From your description, it sounds far more likely that the problem lies with your bank. The bank's contention that your phone has malware is customer service reading from some sort of script and not having a clue.

  • by manwithabicpen,

    manwithabicpen manwithabicpen Sep 15, 2015 8:37 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2015 8:37 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    What about unathorized ordering of a brand new Samsung Galaxy from my Wireless Provider? My wireless provider is completely separate organization than my bank. I have a suspicion that my bank has issues but it would make no sense that somebody with few financial resources would get their bank password changed over and over again without permission. Something is definitely afoot here.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 15, 2015 8:48 PM in response to manwithabicpen
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2015 8:48 PM in response to manwithabicpen

    It sounds as if your bank either has an issue with its password system or a bad employee. And, a phone was either ordered fraudulently or in error (it happens) on your account. Again, nothing indicates that your phone is somehow at the root of this. In fact, the two issues may not even be related.

  • by manwithabicpen,

    manwithabicpen manwithabicpen Sep 15, 2015 9:03 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2015 9:03 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    Actually they are related. I just noticed that there was a notification that my account password with my cell phone company was changed within 10 minutes of my bank password. This is pure madness.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 15, 2015 9:09 PM in response to manwithabicpen
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 15, 2015 9:09 PM in response to manwithabicpen

    manwithabicpen wrote:

     

    Actually they are related. I just noticed that there was a notification that my account password with my cell phone company was changed within 10 minutes of my bank password. This is pure madness.

    That doesn't mean they are related incidents. The might be. They might not. And, again, there's nothing to indicate that your phone has anything to do with this. It's far more likely that someone has either gotten your information because they know you and were able to guess, through social engineering or phishing or, possibly brute force password cracking.

     

    If you believe that someone is fraudulently accessing your accounts, you should report it to the police.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 15, 2015 9:13 PM in response to manwithabicpen
    Level 9 (50,397 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 15, 2015 9:13 PM in response to manwithabicpen

    Why are you wasting time, call the police.

  • by manwithabicpen,

    manwithabicpen manwithabicpen Sep 15, 2015 9:25 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2015 9:25 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    You don't "guess" somebody's password. It is not my dog or the city I was born or something like that. It turns out my wireless company account password was changed. Now that account password established with the sole purpose of preventing tampering with my account. Somebody would have had to record conversations I had with customer service with my wireless company to know that. Don't you think it is over the top? Do I "think" somebody is fraudently using my account, it is not about "thinking" it is patently obvious. What I am saying it should not be possible to do this much damage and the phone is the obvious culprit here. A lot of things I do, I never even done on my pc so the only avenue of information could be my phone. Here is an interesting twist: I have been told by a family member that when they call my number they get voicemail of a random organization. I can call them fine but they can't call me. This is definitely phone related. I doubt police would be able to do anything here since it is clearly out of state.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 16, 2015 6:01 AM in response to manwithabicpen
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 16, 2015 6:01 AM in response to manwithabicpen

    manwithabicpen wrote:

     

    Do I "think" somebody is fraudently using my account, it is not about "thinking" it is patently obvious.

    Then you should be reporting it to the police.

     

    Yes, passwords can be guessed. They can be acquired in lots of ways. I listed some above. You still have not described anything that would indicate that the phone is the issue. I'm not sure why you're resistant to taking the one positive step that is available to you.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 16, 2015 6:07 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 9 (50,397 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 16, 2015 6:07 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    I don't believe this poster, they seem to be quite content letting their money be stolen while they argue here, I'm out, this is a troll.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Sep 16, 2015 6:16 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 9 (58,841 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 16, 2015 6:16 AM in response to Csound1

    Csound1 wrote:

     

    I don't believe this poster, they seem to be quite content letting their money be stolen while they argue here, I'm out, this is a troll.

    I believe they have probably been scared by a lot of stupid news articles and ads for LifeLock. But that changes nothing. The only appropriate response is to contact the police.

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