A secret spyware that can be easily installed on a user’s iPhone has been found by the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs.The generally secure nature of the iPhone is one that most people rely on. The majority of Apple products are praised on their resistance to viruses and spyware. Unfortunately, a new trojan infector has been found to potentially infect iPhones and share the contents with an outside party.
An excerpt from Bloomberg:
FinFisher spyware made by U.K.-based Gamma Group can take control of a range of mobile devices, including Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)’s BlackBerry, an analysis of presumed samples of the software shows.
The program can secretly turn on a device’s microphone, track its location and monitor e-mails, text messages and voice calls, according to the findings, being published today by the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs’ Citizen Lab.
People are walking around with tools for surveillance in their pockets,” says John Scott-Railton, a doctoral student at the University of California Los Angeles’ Luskin School of Public Affairs who assisted with the research.
The trojan was developed for government use only and is designed to be completely concealed from the user. A user could download what they think is an update, and be infected by the trojan. The FinSpy trojan also could access Android devices, but not Windows phones.