iOS 9 Will Address AirDrop Vulnerability

We’re sure many users are excited to get their hands on iOS 9 which will be released later today. The excitement for the new features and polished UI will be something to look forward to, but at the same time it would also seem that iOS 9 will address an AirDrop vulnerability that has been discovered that allows hackers to insert malware into iOS devices.

According to a report from Forbes, security research Mark Dowd recently discovered that iOS 8 had an AirDrop vulnerability. This allowed hackers to install malware on the devices of their victims through the feature, and the worst part is that their victim does not even need to approve the transfer, just initiating the AirDrop is enough to allow the malware to go through.

For those unfamiliar with AirDrop, it’s basically Apple’s way of allowing files to be transferred between iOS and OS X devices. According to Dowd, “The [malware] app is restricted by its sandbox. However since you sign the app, you can grant some entitlements that allow it to do things like read contacts, get location information, use the camera or whatever other entitlements legitimate apps can be allowed to have.”

The good news is like we said, iOS 9 appears to be fixed the vulnerability. As for OS X users, the latest build of OS X 10.11 will also address the issue to. So if you’re wondering if you should install iOS 9 today, you probably should.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Tablets
Tags: Hacking, ios 9, Malware, Security