Hack

Hacker creates a software-only brute force tool for jailbroken devices

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Well-known iOS jailbreak developer and hacker Majd Alfhaily was intrigued when read about MDSec's black box hardware brute force for iOS devices. The tool, which runs over a USB connection, tries every possible passcode combination in an attempt to unlock an iPhone secured with a simple passcode.

The downside of such a tool, is that each PIN entry takes approximately 40 seconds, so it could take more than 110 hours to brute force an iPhone. Majd, being the curious person that he is, devised a way to do it in a fraction of the time using only software. The only caveat, if you even want to call it that given what it does, is that the device must be able to run unsigned code, i.e., the device must be jailbroken.

New ‘IP Box’ tool unlocks iPhone PINs via brute force attacks

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

A new device is causing commotion around the interwebs today, that has the ability to unlock PIN-protected iOS devices. The tool, first spotlighted by security firm MDSec, is being used in the phone repair markets to brute-force iPhone and iPad Lock screens.

According to MDSec, these 'IP Boxes' are about the size of an Apple TV, and you can acquire one for around $300. It works by simulating the PIN entry on a device over a USB connection, and is able to sequentially bruteforce every possible PIN combination.

Apple ‘actively investigating’ alleged iCloud hack that led to celeb photo leak

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

After nearly 24 hours of silence, Apple has finally commented on the alleged iCloud hack that led to a massive leak yesterday of nude celebrity photos. The Cupertino-based company says that it is aware of the reports and is "actively investigating" the claim.

"We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris told Recode in a statement. She did not, however, provide any additional details on the attack, or if iCloud was even the source of the photos.

Hacker leaks dozens of nude celebrity pics in alleged iCloud hack

Cody Lee ∙ August 31, 2014

Twitter, Reddit and several other social networks are blowing up this evening with talk of a major nude celebrity photo leak. The trove first appeared on 4chan's /b/ thread earlier today, and it includes Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence and several others.

The pictures were allegedly retrieved through a vulnerability in Apple's iCloud service, which allowed the celebrities’ phones to be hacked. Thus far, no one has confirmed that iCloud was actually breached, and few details are known about the attack, or the attacker.

BigBoss repo allegedly hacked [updated]

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

BigBoss, one of the default repositories for jailbreak tweaks in Cydia, has allegedly been hacked by an individual or a group of individuals whose identity is still unknown.

The attackers were apparently able to gain access to all packages (paid and free) that are available in the BigBoss repo, and made the deb index and database available for download. The assailants went as far as creating a new repo which can be added to Cydia to download all BigBoss-hosted tweaks.

As is always the case when this type of security breach happens, jailbreak users should be cautious and stay away from this.

Yo hack compromises your phone contacts, but fix is underway

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 11, 2016

Yesterday, I told you about Yo, a ridiculous new messaging app which lets people exchange two-character "Yo" messages. Some like Stephen Colbert have eviscerated Yo for being utterly useless and plain dumb while others point out the fact that it's received more than $1 million in VC-backed funding as a proof that the mobile messaging space is booming with innovation.

Be that as it may, turns out the controversial software poses something of a security risk as a pair of college students have found a vulnerability allowing them to compromise any Yo user’s phone number, spam them with unsolicited messages and more.

Yo founder Or Arbel has confirmed that the app was “having security issues” and has promised to deliver a fix “in next few hours”...

Apple says Australian iOS device attacks not caused by iCloud breach

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

On Monday, a number of iOS and Mac users came forward with complaints that their devices had been remotely locked by hackers. In most of the cases, a message appeared via Find My iPhone on the locked devices, demanding payment for the hack to be reversed.

As far as we can tell, the attacks have been concentrated on Mac and iOS products in Australia. And among the various theories of how the hackers were able to set a remote lock has been the fear that iCloud was breached. But Apple says it hasn't been compromised...

Some iOS devices hijacked and held hostage in Australia

Joe Rossignol ∙ May 27, 2014

A growing number of iPhone, iPad and Mac users in Australia are turning to the Apple Support Communities and Twitter to report incidents of their device being remotely locked through iCloud. In some cases, a fraudulent message appears through the Find my iPhone service demanding payment between $50 and $100 to someone named Oleg Pliss for the device to be unlocked…

Hackers create tool to bypass Apple’s ‘Activation Lock’ security feature

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Two hackers have created a tool that they claim can bypass Apple's 'Activation Lock.' It's called 'doulCi, and it uses a man-in-the-middle attack to intercept users' Apple ID credentials as well as unlock devices disabled by the highly-lauded security feature.

The hack utilizes a vulnerability in iTunes for Windows that has to do with verifying security certificates. And apparently, all you have to do to get it to work is plug in the device to a computer, and alter a file, directing it to an alternate server instead of iCloud...

Glitch discovered in iOS 7.1 lets you hide stock apps

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 7, 2022

Folks who updated to iOS 7.1 earlier this month may be interested in this newly-discovered glitch that allows you to hide stock iOS apps. It's very similar to last year's Newsstand glitch, in that it involves a multi-step process and doesn't [obviously] require a jailbreak.

The glitch is present on both iPhones and iPads, and is relatively easy to exploit. All you have to do, essentially, is create a folder full of apps you wish to hide, drop it in another folder, and then remove it. Interested? Keep reading for a full step-by-step video tutorial...

Hacked T-Mobile carrier update for iPhone offers several features and improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Folks with an iPhone on T-Mobile might be interested to hear that there’s a new hacked carrier update available that promises a number of enhancements. It was created by the same folks who brought us that slew of carrier update hacks for Sprint, Verizon and AT&T iPhone models last summer.

This time around, the developers say that the modded update includes a variety of things like boosted data speeds and signal reception (depending on your location). It also adds several native T-Mobile features to your iPhone like the ability to view account balance, texts sent and other usage info...

Winocm shows off iPad triple-booting iOS 5.1, 6.1.3 and 7.0.6

Cody Lee ∙ March 25, 2014

This is pretty interesting. Hacker winocm has posted a new video of his iPad triple-booting into multiple versions of iOS. The clip shows his hacked tablet booting up and running in iOS 5.1, and then its ability to quickly switch to iOS 6.1.3 and iOS 7.0.6.

Winocm has made quite the name for himself around the jailbreak community as both a hacker and a tinkerer. Last week he posted a video of his jailbroken (untethered) iPhone 4 running iOS 7.1, and don't forget he helped iH8sn0w create p0sixspwn...