First iPhone Worm Hits Jailbroken iPhones in Australia

iPhone users in Australia are hit by a new worm which changes their wallpaper to an image of 1980s pop-star Rick Astley. The worm affects only jailbroken iPhones, if their default password after install SSH has not been changed.

According to security expert, Graham Cluley, the worm has been coded by a hacker calling himself “ikee”. It changed the background wallpaper to Rick Astley’s image along with a message “ikee is never going to give you up”. Changing the wallpaper through settings won’t work.

If you have a jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch with SSH installed, it’s wise to change the default root password of your device with something other than ‘alpine’ or by disabling SSH. iPhones have same default root password ‘alpine’ and many overlook the need to change that password, which renders their phone defenseless to intrusion and hacking. A detailed guide on how to secure your iPhone can be found here. (Image source: forums.whirlpool.net.au)