Another Reason Not to Jailbreak Your iPhone

This was written by Jack Mann on Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 12:01.

According to recent media reports, iPhones that have been illegally altered (know as Jailbreaking) are being targeted by malware. The malware then links the jailbroken iPhone into a mobile botnet, believed to be the first of its kind.

The worm, uncovered by security firm Intego, scans local networks for jailbroken iPhones and then copies itself onto the iPhone, adding the device to a growing mobile botnet. The worm is presently only operating in foreign countries including some nations in Europe and Australia. The worm exploits unchanged passwords related to Secure Shell software that can be downloaded on jailbroken iPhones.

The worm also prevents the user from altering the password and connects the infected device to a server in Eastern Europe that has been used in DDoS attacks, sending malware and spam.