Can the iPhone5 be hacked remotely by a hacker?

Meg St._Clair wrote:

...jumping straight past zebras right to unicorns.

Of the invisible pink variety, indeed.

Lschoend wrote:

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.

Considering that the FBI just paid a professional hacker $1.3 million to hack an iPhone, you really need to explain to them that it was unnecessary, that it's clear that any iPhone can be hacked for free.

tonefox wrote:

Meg St._Clair wrote:

...jumping straight past zebras right to unicorns.

Of the invisible pink variety, indeed.

With glitter.

Sorry to disappoint you both, Meg and Tonefox, but Apple Support agreed with me. Digitizers were not mentioned. I received clear instructions to erase all content and settings and set it up as a new phone, then selectively reinstall only trusted apps. As far as unicorns go, assuming that two different device models both developed the same hardware problem, independently, within less than 24 hours of each other sounds a lot closer to invisible pink unicorns with glitter. And by the way, in my profession we routinely operate entire banks of iPhones remotely as part of load testing mobile apps. All you need is the software on the phone and a remote system to control it. Granted we installed it deliberately, but what we can do anyone else can do. In the future, your comments would be far more helpful and perhaps taken seriously were they not so disrespectful and dismissive.

Lschoend wrote:

And by the way, in my profession we routinely operate entire banks of iPhones remotely as part of load testing mobile apps. All you need is the software on the phone and a remote system to control it.

And you remotely (with no physical access to the phones) installed this software?

Meg I (and everyone else) routinely install software in the form of apps. All it takes is an app that is not what it seems. This is a widely known problem (flashlight apps are infamous for this but there are many others).

For those confused by the FBI paying money to get a phone hacked, they misunderstand the problem. Trying to hack a phone once it is locked is obviously difficult but not impossible. My phones were only being remotely operated when they were unlocked. Also this is software I probably installed unawares, not software someone tried to install remotely. Installing software remotely and using already installed software to control a device are two completely different problems.

Lschoend wrote:

Meg I (and everyone else) routinely install software in the form of apps. All it takes is an app that is not what it seems. This is a widely known problem (flashlight apps are infamous for this but there are many others).

For those confused by the FBI paying money to get a phone hacked, they misunderstand the problem. Trying to hack a phone once it is locked is obviously difficult but not impossible. My phones were only being remotely operated when they were unlocked. Also this is software I probably installed unawares, not software someone tried to install remotely. Installing software remotely and using already installed software to control a device are two completely different problems.

If it were as easy as you seem to think, there would be security experts posting articles about it all over the place. The instances in which apps that were downloaded by the person who owns the phone which turned out to be malicious, were very limited and the exploits were quickly patched. But, the important thing is they were not installed remotely. They required someone to download the apps from an untrustworthy source (in all but one case). Is it absolutely impossible? No. Is it highly unlikely? Yes. Is it likely that it's what happened to your phones? No.

Thank you for your opinion but I prefer to trust the experts paid to do this, They work for Apple Support.

wow, I've just recently been having a touching problem when I'm in my iMessage app. I have a 5s and up to date with OS 10.0.2 Up until just recently I have had flawless usage.

Mtfotonut wrote:

wow, I've just recently been having a touching problem when I'm in my iMessage app. I have a 5s and up to date with OS 10.0.2 Up until just recently I have had flawless usage.

Start with the most likely possibilities and have your phone checked out by the Genius Bar at your nearest Apple Store.

The phone companies need to build in technology to stop this now that would be a phone I would buy over the rest.

If you totally believe that you will NEVER solve the problem, because the problem is not a hacked phone or computer. Along with the sheriff's department, I don't believe you either.

Unfortunately, you have to go to the FBI and they’re about as useless as the arrogant Apple.

Repeating the same thing over and over, who are you trying to convince?

So everyone who has had it happen is wrong? I don’t care to convince anyone. I’m engaging in a discussion sharing my experience.