Apple's iOS 7 to Fix Security Flaw Dealing with Fake Charging Stations

While hackers are looking at smartphones as less of a target than they do PCs, that doesn’t mean that the iPhone is completely free from trouble. A new report has surfaced, saying the company will issue a new update for its smartphones and iPad tablets that will fix a security flaw that has allowed hackers access to the devices when users hook their iPhones or iPads up to a fake charging station. The company made the announcement about this new security fix late last week.

Apple has been known to have odd problems like this one creep up with every new iteration of the iPhone. There have even been reports that the iPhone 5 has managed to electrocute someone when they plugged the phone into a faulty power cord. It seems as if this might be the first time that hackers have found a way into the device, using a charging station specifically built to tap into the devices.

It turns out that the company is vulnerable to these kinds of attacks until it releases the iOS 7 software update, slated for this fall. Three programmers alerted Apple to the flaw and demonstrated it during the Black Hat hacking convention in Las Vegas. This convention serves as a way for security professionals to learn the latest dangers in the cyber criminal world.

At the convention, researchers Billy Lau, Yeongjin Jang and Chengyu Song demonstrated a fake power jack they said they were able to put together for about $45. The researchers said it also took about a week to devise and construct. When an iPhone 5 was plugged into the jack, the phone was programmed to call one of the researchers. The group said that quite a bit more control could be built into the jack should the wrong people find a way to use the technology.

Apple has thanked the research team for finding the flaw and said that after iOS 7 is released, a message will pop up on the iDevice that tells users they are plugging their tablets and computers into a computer, rather than a charger.