My iPhone 5 was hacked without anybody touching it (ios 6.1.4)

MommaCatt wrote:

Did anything ever get resolved with your hacked issue? Having similar problems, as if someone remotely connected to my iPhone 6. I was listening to music, then suddenly the song gets changed & as I'm closing iTunes library altogether, someone opened other apps on my phone. I stopped touching phone & watched them open my photos, email, bank app - freaked me out & was immediately closing the apps. Then did hard reset, turned on & back off. Looked on forums read someones iPhone & Mac had been hacked so shut that down too. Not feeling very safe or secure. Called Apple - they told me it's best to go to closest store. Not happy with lack of knowledge/concern but honestly just want issue resolved so I can feel safe using my Apple products again. Just wondering if I'm going to get same outcome as you if I drive hr to store, which would be waste of time & energy.

None of that suggests that your device was hacked. There may be a hardware malfunction in the device. Unless your device was jailbroken, then it hasn't been hacked.

Make a backup. Restore it as new via iTunes. Test the issue. If it reoccurs, it's a hardware fault.

You were not 'hacked'. The touch screen is failing. Make an appointment at the genius bar of your local Apple Store and get it fixed.

It's not jailbroken phone. Thank you all for advice.

Exactly as everybody has described here but a pattern has now developed recently which I think proves that a hardware issue is not the concern.

At the same time (within a half hour) every day now.. my phone goes to the bank app and attempts to log in. Theres definitely a pattern to my phones activities. A faulty screen generating input? swiping between screens, going directly to a bank app? This is not a hardware issue.

As I am typing this, my phone has closed its Safari browser... swiped 2 screens over and fired up a bank app. I removed my bank app 2 days ago and installed one from a bank i do not use. Guess what? the new bank app is now the target.

Same time every day... Not a hardware issue. Its amazing to see some of the rhetoric from some of the defenders of technology, but it means nothing if its not coming from the manufacturer. So, goodbye iPhone.. hello blackberry i guess.

Who are you? Are u paid by Apple?

Simply saying it's not possible for it to be a hardware issue doesn't make it so. What it does is irrelevant, if the screen is registering input without you touching it, it's a hardware issue, period. It sounds to me like you have no interest in solving the problem but would rather complain. If I'm wrong, then take it to an Apple Store or authorized service provider for evaluation.

Already did.

And the Apple store staff observed my phone in action and are completely dumbfounded. Its not a random enough of an occurrence. Apple would not repair the phone as they are not able to find any fault with the device, but suggested reseting the phone and selective application choices should resolve any software flaws. Restoring form a backup is not a resolution they advised. The phone was purchased from the same store, and setup by Apple staff at that time.

Complain? Are you paid by Apple? If you are, thats a pretty outrageous statement you make. Considering nobody at Apple will concur with you.

You should try reading what Ive posted a bit slower. Pretty much a factual account. I don't see any complaint there or is it because I want to try a Blackberry device? Is that what you interpret as a complaint?

How does one engage or activate Siri via touching the screen? You are wrong, but its really not relevant as you are not the manufacturer.

Sounds like a hardware issue to me, too.

I'm not sure what proof people have that some devices are "impossible to remotely hack".

It is easy to prove plausibility.

There are a host of possibilities to gain remote access.

Most importantly, if remote control is possible on a jail broken device, then all that remains is an attacker gaining access to remote jail break.

Proofs:

1.How to Install VNC Server on Jailbroken iOS Device

via LifeHacker

2. Man in the Middle Attack Demonstrated by McAfee

via SecurityWeek - attacker gains access, silently jailbreaks, then installs VNC server.

While the OP may have had a bad pop-up, and although the McAfee exploit report is old, here are a few ways to protect yourself:

1. lock your phone - prevent people from physically tampering with your device

2. avoid public (rogue) WIFI hotspots, even better, use a VPN over WIFI or stay on 4G

3. be mindful of pop-ups posing as Apple. If you get an Apple pop-up to call them, take it to Genius Bar instead.

4. keep iOS updated. while this is difficult for many, nowadays it is even more important to patch exploits.

5. close browser vulnerabilities, such as the solution in this thread

6. consider getting a security app, be it antivirus/antimalware - let it be someone else's job to keep an eye out for you

Hope this helps anyone concerned or affected.

AllTechFan wrote:

I'm not sure what proof people have that some devices are "impossible to remotely hack".

It is easy to prove plausibility.

There are a host of possibilities to gain remote access.

Most importantly, if remote control is possible on a jail broken device, then all that remains is an attacker gaining access to remote jail break.

Did you miss the part where I said, "Unless you have jailbroken your phone...."?

1.How to Install VNC Server on Jailbroken iOS Device

via LifeHacker

This is not proof of anything. In order to install the VNC server on your device so that you can access it remotely, you FIRST have to jailbreak your phone.

The McAfee link is three years old. It was a proof of concept by an a vendor of antivirus software that went on to suggest installing anti-virus software on the iPad. Given we haven't heard very many (any?) cases of this happening, I think it falls under the "likelihood is so small as to be functionally zero" part of my statement.

I certainly didn't say it was absolutely impossible. However, the chances that the problem is something else are so much greater it makes far more sense to explore the other possibilities first.

All good tips except number 6 the last one.

1. Don't jailbreak your device. If device is jailbroken, nothing will help you, you are on your on.

2. Replacing your own responsibility with an app only give you a false sense of security.

3. Unless you're interested in snake oil, get a security app.

@meg, I did not miss your comment. I'm suggesting additionally that it can be silently jailbroken, or, at somepoint a 3rd party can do so physically.

No need to get defensive, OP was asking if it's possible, and instead of a blanket statement advising near impossible, I am showing how it can be possible.

Man in the middle attacks have been around, but they are still being used to attack devices remotely, from laptops to routers.

I'm merely replying because I felt your stance was dismissive to OP. I am not diagnosing the problem, merely offering options for research.

Lack of documentation supporting it can be done is no more proof itself that it can't.

@ckuan I agree, i'm not recommending jail breaking, just showing that VNC can be done if jail broken.

I also agree vigilance is key. I should have stated that first, and short of that...

Enjoy, and thanks for all the inputs.

No, you have not shown it is possible. The one middle man exploit, which wasn't used, was plugged long ago. There hasn't been a remote jailbreak install possibility for longer than that. Neither of your posts show any present plausibility. You can suggest it can be done or at sometime in the nebulous future a 3rd party can do so but that would be purely your opinion not fact.

AllTechFan wrote:

I'm merely replying because I felt your stance was dismissive to OP. I am not diagnosing the problem, merely offering options for research.

I'm not being dismissive. I'm being realistic and presenting a practical course of action. You're suggesting, without any evidence, either documentary or anecdotal, that the phone being hacked remotely is a reasonable possibility. It's not. Suggesting that a) frightens people unnecessarily and b) tends to discourage people from doing the troubleshooting to diagnose and solve the far more likely problems.

There's a axiom taught to medical students: When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras.