The second worm to hit the iPhone has come to light thanks to security company F-Secure. It affects anyone in the Netherlands who uses their iPhone for internet banking with online bank ING.Attacking "jail-broken" phones: those that have been modified so that the user can run non-Apple approved software, the worm redirects ING customers to a mirror image site with a log-in screen.
The handsets at risk have SSH (secure shell) installed, a feature that allows other programs to remotely connect and transfer files. The feature’s default password, "alpine" should be changed. If the password is changed, the risk is eliminated.
F-Secure warns that the new worm is more serious than the first because it can behave like a ‘botnet’ which means the phone can be accessed or controlled remotely without the permission of its owner.
Research director of F-Secure Mikko Hypponen said in an interview with the BBC, "It's fairly isolated and specific to Netherlands but it is capable of spreading."
There is a risk that the worm could jump from phone to phone amongst those sharing a wi-fi hotspot. An ING Bank spokesperson said that a warning would be issued via the bank's official website.
Ikee, the first iPhone worm, was harmless and saw the wallpaper of infected phones replaced with a picture of 1980s pop star Rick Astley.
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