Are hackers in your phone? Here’s how to find out
How do you find out if your Apple iPhone or iPad is infected with a hacker?
Apple’s latest malware disclosure makes it sound impossible, but there’s a simple test you can take at home and use when you buy your next smartphone.
The new report from the security firm McAfee warns of “new threats” in Apple’s mobile operating system:
“As the threat landscape becomes increasingly complicated, and as malicious actors become more savvy and innovative, Apple’s security programs may not detect all of these new threats. Apple’s Mobile Device Security, the company’s mobile operating system security, is not sufficiently secure and is not effective as an endpoint solution.”
But, Apple, and its security guard, the US Government’s National Security Agency (NSA), have been in the news a lot lately for their ability to monitor and track phone calls and emails, but Apple is not the only organization with this sort of capability. It’s the NSA, and their equivalents in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, which are the two most effective hacking organizations on Earth. Their job is to protect national interests and they know about hacking.
The NSA and other intelligence agencies have a history of leaking software from foreign governments, many of them “inadvertently” hacked. So when Apple and its allies publish a security feature in iOS, it’s more likely to be something they quietly inserted into iOS by accident rather than purposefully.
There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that iOS is widely considered the least secure smartphone operating system on the market. The bad news is that, like many other popular operating systems, it is open source. You can check it out online for free.
But what if you don’t have an iDevice anymore?
If you’re not the owner of a personal computer or iOS device, you may be wondering if there’s a way to find out if your smartphone is infected with malware.
If you’re already