Hackers continue to find new ways to attack devices, and, in a recent article by Doug Gross from CNN, he says that there is a team of researchers from Georgia Tech who say they have discovered, and can even demonstrate, a way to hack into an iPhone or iPad in less than a minute using a “malicious charger!”
Yes, not even your phone charger is safe anymore.
The Georgia Tech team, according to Gross, plans to demonstrate its findings at the Black Hat Computer Security Conference in Las Vegas in July. A preview of its presentation suggests that even though Apple has great defenses against hackers, those defenses can now be bypassed.
The team, according to Gross, said, “We investigated the extent to which security threats were considered when performing everyday activities such as charging a device. The results were alarming: despite the plethora of defense mechanisms in iOS, we successfully injected arbitrary software into current-generation Apple devices running the latest operating system (OS) software. All users were affected, as our approach requires neither a jailbroken device nor use interaction.”
This just goes to show that hackers will stop at nothing to get what they want and need. With that said, here is a reminder on how to keep your devices safe.
- Don’t enter your details into a website unless you are sure it is genuine. A definite red flag is often a slightly different or strange URL address.
- Never visit your bank, email, or other important sites by clicking on a supplied link. Type in the website address instead.
- Don’t reply to, click on any links, or contact any email addresses or phone numbers in spam emails. You should simply delete them. To properly delete an email, you will need to first highlight it and click delete, and then go to your Delete or Trash folder and delete it again.
- Remember that banks will never ask for you account, password, or pin over the phone, in person, or in an email.
- If you have fallen victim to an attack, change your password as soon as possible.
- If you have given away any banking details, call your bank immediately to let them know.
- If you have given away your email login details, immediately email you contacts to let them know and warn them not to click on suspicious links.
Hackers are out there every minute trying to figure out some way to invade your computer and/or your electronic devices. Strong network security is a must. At Davik Inc, your security is our top priority. Contact us any time if you’d like to discuss your needs.
