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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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Posted on Apr 23, 2016 1:37 PM

I have read all of these comments and the ones that claim your iPhone can't be hacked are delusional. I watched both my and my daughter's iPhones (5 and 5s) operate themselves. No cables were attached. Whoever was controlling the phone was opening apps, trying to download music, etc. and was also able to prevent me from getting to Settings or turn off the phone. I spent 20 minutes playing games and finally had to do a hard reset then quickly erase the phone. Was probably malware from an app that was downloaded, who knows, but to assert that it was a bad cable or anything else is just nonsense. I would rather be informed and alert than lulled into some false sense of security.

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Apr 23, 2016 1:37 PM in response to suzanne3382

I have read all of these comments and the ones that claim your iPhone can't be hacked are delusional. I watched both my and my daughter's iPhones (5 and 5s) operate themselves. No cables were attached. Whoever was controlling the phone was opening apps, trying to download music, etc. and was also able to prevent me from getting to Settings or turn off the phone. I spent 20 minutes playing games and finally had to do a hard reset then quickly erase the phone. Was probably malware from an app that was downloaded, who knows, but to assert that it was a bad cable or anything else is just nonsense. I would rather be informed and alert than lulled into some false sense of security.

Dec 12, 2017 6:20 AM in response to Comet.24206

If you are engaging a conversation then yes, they are wrong. You are wrong as well.


You can not hack a non jailbroken iOS device for a very specific reason:

The tools to create software for iOS lack the features need to allow someone to hack an iOS device. The software developed for iOS can only be distributed through the App Store.


If you jailbroke your iOS device all bets are off, but if you didn't there were currently two potential hacks that were patched before any credible securities lab in the world found evidence of code that would allow anyone these exploit to compromise iOS anywhere on the web.


if you think your Apple ID has been compromised (which is not a hack btw) see this link:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204145


You may wish to change your Apple ID log/pass with a complex password you don’t use for anywhere else.

If you share the same or similar log/pass combo with another service (e.g. Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and that service is compromised then anyone with that information simply needs to try the same combo elsewhere

Feb 24, 2018 8:39 PM in response to Kelleyisfromgilbert

Kelleyisfromgilbert wrote:


Everyone seems to think an iPhone can not be hacked, that’s total bs, mind was hacked, and no one knows the answer to the question,

Unless your iPhone has been jailbroken, the possibility that it could be hacked is so small as to be about the last thing one considers when troubleshooting. It is far more likely that your Apple ID was compromised.


I have my own account, never shared anything with this man, he is a complete stalker who keeps breaking into my phone, he remotely does it from his Apple Watch, I’ve changed my Apple ID, he is getting in some how and he doesn’t have to be close with his watch, stop thinking it’s IMPOSSIBLE... it’s not!

An Apple Watch simply does not have the capability to do what you're suggesting. Apple Watches can only be connected to one phone and, in order to do that, you have to have physical access to the phone.


You say you've changed your Apple ID password but have you activated two-factor authentication?


Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support


If you are being stalked, and your accounts are being broken into, you should contact the police. They will advise you on the proper next steps.

Mar 12, 2017 12:57 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Right but in my situation I was uneducated in the world of hacking and like them, thought my phone needed repair. It wasn't until $40k later that I found out I was hacked and a victim of identity theft at the hands of a relative who jailbroke my phone. She now has 2 warrants for her arrest but it has taken me 3 years to get to that point. I had to spend my every waking moment educating myself on the world of hacking; first with Android then IOS. ****, at one point I carried both, as well as a Window's phone just to try and keep ahead of my "hacker". Apple needs to realize this **** is real and it destroys lives. If all these companies would take the developer tools off their websites it would help. The FCC should also require mobile service providers to hide your IP and MAC addresses. The same goes for internet service providers. These things wont stop it all but it will cut down on the number of occurrences.

Mar 12, 2017 6:57 PM in response to Crushoncorey

Crushoncorey wrote:


Right but in my situation I was uneducated in the world of hacking and like them, thought my phone needed repair. It wasn't until $40k later that I found out I was hacked and a victim of identity theft at the hands of a relative who jailbroke my phone. She now has 2 warrants for her arrest but it has taken me 3 years to get to that point. I had to spend my every waking moment educating myself on the world of hacking; first with Android then IOS. ****, at one point I carried both, as well as a Window's phone just to try and keep ahead of my "hacker". Apple needs to realize this **** is real and it destroys lives. If all these companies would take the developer tools off their websites it would help. The FCC should also require mobile service providers to hide your IP and MAC addresses. The same goes for internet service providers. These things wont stop it all but it will cut down on the number of occurrences.

You gave your relative physical access to your phone and they did bad things. Hiding your IP and MAC addresses would not have stopped that. If Apple took developer tools off their websites, people wouldn't be able to develop apps.


What really needs to happen is that people need to learn to treat their phones like they would their wallet, their social security number, their passport and their house keys. I'm sorry you had to learn that lesson the hard way. But, like falling for phishing scams, there's a limit to what anyone else can do to protect you from yourself.


Enable Find My iPhone on your phone. Do NOT share the passcode to your Apple ID with anyone. Put a complex password on your phone. Do NOT share that passcode with anyone. Do NOT install apps from anyplace but the App Store. If you do those things, there is almost no chance your phone can be compromised at this time. These things are far more effective than any of the things you suggest would be.

Mar 20, 2017 3:43 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Granted my niece stole my phone and did some physical damage but the real problem didn't even begin until I had the phone back in my possession. Once someone has your MAC address they can hack your email remotely from any location. This has been going on since 2013 and the detectives were just able to obtain the warrants in 2016. She jailbroke my phone and then REMOTELY hacked my email by using all the information she already knew combined with what she was able to gather from my various online accounts. She was also able to hack into my wifi through Comcast by logging into the gateway. I'm not as savvy as some of you are about this technical stuff but she was developing apps that were having me redirect to a bogus sight where i would enter personal information and she would get it that way. She was also able to create 4 new Apple ID's in my name. Shouldn't Apple have some sort of check system when there is so much activity in one person's name? Then when I contacted Apple to try and have them closed and deleted I was told Apple wouldnt be able to do that because I couldnt verify the information associated with those accounts. I really think Apple should stop trying to market the fact they are so "secure" because that is a half-truth. Apple nor Android is secure as far as I'm concerned because I've had both...plus a windows phone and they were all hacked. I've gone through free security services as well as paid and found none are 100% hack-proof. Lets just say Lifelock owes me quite a settlement!!!

Mar 20, 2017 12:32 PM in response to Crushoncorey

Crushoncorey wrote:


Shouldn't Apple have some sort of check system when there is so much activity in one person's name? Then when I contacted Apple to try and have them closed and deleted I was told Apple wouldnt be able to do that because I couldnt verify the information associated with those accounts. I really think Apple should stop trying to market the fact they are so "secure" because that is a half-truth. Apple nor Android is secure as far as I'm concerned because I've had both...plus a windows phone and they were all hacked. I've gone through free security services as well as paid and found none are 100% hack-proof. Lets just say Lifelock owes me quite a settlement!!!

Nothing you describe is the result of anything Apple did or didn't do and says nothing about the security of iOS devices. The problem here is that someone got physical access to your phone, which, I'm guessing didn't have a passcode on it and didn't have Find My iPhone enabled. If those two Apple provided security features had been in place (which is your responsibility), your niece could have done nothing with the phone.


Apple IDs are tied to an email address. If your niece created email addresses and then used them to create and Apple ID, that really has nothing to do with you. Unless she also stole your credit card information, those IDs can't do much to hurt you. To secure your own Apple ID, enable two-factor authentication.


Apple is also not responsible for your niece's phishing attacks where she tricked you into giving out personal information. That doesn't even require a computer. People have been doing things like that over the phone and by post for years. It just takes longer.


All cars come with the ability to lock the doors. No care manufacturer requires that you actually lock those doors. If you don't and someone steals things from your car or steals your car, it's not the responsibility of the car manufacturer. Apple provides lots of really great security features. But, they don't force you to use them. That's up to you.


It sounds like you've had a very frustrating experience. And, it's good that you seem to be taking the first steps to educate yourself. But, please, pay attention to the people here rather than jumping to conclusions about how things happened.

Sep 6, 2017 2:19 AM in response to Lexiepex

Without prejudice: Yes my ex used to break down and build computers. He had cyber cafes and would reverse the monitor cameras to spy on people using them after they paid a euro in the Bull and bush torrevieja Spain.and take pictures of them and store them on his pc worryingly most of the pictures were of girls aged under 14. Just little girls. So I left him. I saw him after installing satellite TV in cafes in Spain spying on them from from his own PC at home looking in their cafes by reversing the camera in the digital tv's to spy on them or reversing the computer monitor too. He was paranoid people were talking about him that's the main reason. He's bipolarI.I found photos of me on his laptop that he had taken by reversing my web cam at home on my computer so he could access it from his PC at his house. On his PC there were photos of exes where he had done the same and videos of them.

Then he started hacking my phone after I left him and leaving photo evidence that he had on my phone in files. I found out he had remotely added new applications to my phone that allowed him using text to speech and my own applications manager to turn on my phone at night and my Bluetooth and take videos from the camera or photos. Then amused by this he did more research and conspired on the Web to find new techniques. After I left him I moved house I was staying somewhere else for a holiday and he turned up with no knowledge of my whereabouts I asked him how he said my iPhone ip address on my phone and my phone location remotely activated (as my location was off) would tell him where ever I was. He then accused me of being unfaithful yet we were apart I had finished with him. He then showed me my own emails he had downloaded the data from my phone remotely. Even though he did not know the number. Once he tracked me he just sat outside the house at night and switched on my phone while I slept. I went to another computer whizz I found on the Internet he stripped my phone to minimum applications and changed me to a new phone provider and new number. I moved house again.Within 3 months **** my ex had found me and was uploading applications to my phone again. We are now divorced and he is still hacking me. It is impossible to stop it. He reads my texts, my emails, he sends texts messages to Julie my friend from Kathy my friends phone remotely. We are all sick of it how can we get rid of this hacker?



<Personal Information Edited by Host>

Sep 6, 2017 2:06 AM in response to Madmax64

I have found so much since researching myself. My photos shared on facebooknow for instance by the hacker though removed by Facebook went to Google and we're on the Internet. Eventually on Facebook advice I got Google to remove them. There is no such thing as privacy anymore.Your systems on your phone Google Play store data and it ends up an easy target for hackers. Any application you download train line your bus ticket application maps gives your location. Just your weather app gives out your location to the right hacker.

Sep 6, 2017 6:13 AM in response to Madmax64

Madmax64 wrote:


I have found so much since researching myself. My photos shared on facebooknow for instance by the hacker though removed by Facebook went to Google and we're on the Internet. Eventually on Facebook advice I got Google to remove them. There is no such thing as privacy anymore.Your systems on your phone Google Play store data and it ends up an easy target for hackers. Any application you download train line your bus ticket application maps gives your location. Just your weather app gives out your location to the right hacker.

Nothing says you have to use any Google product. No Google apps come installed on iPhones, iPads or Macs. You don't have to use Gmail. I'd advice against Facebook on general principle but, if you take the time to properly set your privacy settings, it's just a great time suck rather than actually dangerous.


And no, an unjailbroken iPhone still can't be hacked remotely if it has the latest software updates.


As always, you are responsible for your own security. Apple provides great tools. Use them.

Can the iPhone5 be hacked remotely by a hacker?

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