First iPhone Trojan horse hits the web

IT departments, how many times have you heard that it's a bad idea to allow users to attach unsecured devices to your corporate network? Well, consider this a warning: an 11 year-old hacker has developed and posted to the web the first known iPhone-specific Trojan horse attack. The file, which was billed as "iPhone firmware 1.1.3 prep," a firmware pre-installer that would supposedly protect hacked iPhones, was posted to a number of different locations on the web this past week, where it was downloaded by a few gullible iPhone owners. Once installed, the program merely displays the word "shoes," though it does damage other programs on the phone if it is uninstalled. While this first attack doesn't seem to have any serious, long-term ramifications, it could be a harbinger of things to come. As the F-Secure blog puts it, "This time it was an 11-year-old kid playing with XML files who created the Trojan. Next time it might be someone else with more skills and with [a] specific target."

For more on the virus:
- see this CNET article