Hacked iPhones held hostage for 5 Euros

The importance of properly securing mobile devices has been underlined once again, after a Dutch hacker broke into jailbroken Apple iPhones and displayed a message demanding a 5 Euro ransom be paid.

According to media reports, the hacker used port scanning to identify jailbroken iPhones with SSH running on the T-mobile Netherlands network.

In this instance, the hacker changed the wallpaper on compromised iPhones so they displayed the following message:

Important Warning

Your iPhone’s been hacked because it’s really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked and dsecure your iPhone right now!

Right now, I can access all your files.. This message won’t disappear until your iPhone’s secure

A further message demanded that 5 Euros be paid to the hacker’s PayPal account…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.