Think-Security

In the wake of last weekend's ikee iPhone worm - which switched the background pictures of jailbroken iPhones to a picture of Rick Astley - iPhone-Privacy-A has struck, and its payload is much more harmful than a mere internet prank.

UK-based tech site The Register reports that the worm was first discovered by computer security firm Intego, which specializes in Mac-based threats. "When connecting to a jailbroken iPhone, this tool allows a hacker to silently copy a treasure trove of user data from a compromised iPhone: email, contacts, SMSs, calendars, photos, music files, videos, as well as any data recorded by any iPhone app," Intego told The Register.

Both ikee and iPhone-Privacy-A operate via the same exploit in jailbroken iPhones, a default password that many users keep in the secure shell remote access framework that allows the device to use networks and software that it was not originally designed to.

As the mobile broadband market becomes more and more important to the tech industry, malware attacks against smart phones are expected to rise, according to analysts.