Astley virus exposes iPhone's serious flaws

Rick Astley virus: only his mother could love it.

The first known virus specifically developed to attack the iPhone has been introduced in Australia, the contents of which, while bemusing, highlight a serious flaw in unlocked models circulating worldwide.

Thousands of unlocked handsets were infected with the virus, which replaced the phone’s background with a screen grab of Stock, Aiken and Waterman tragic Rick Astley and the words “Ikee is never gonna give you up,” a two-part reference to Astley’s 1980s top 10 tune and the virus’ developer, Wollongong TAFE student Ashley ‘Ikeeex’ Towns.

Towns claimed the infected code was not intended to be malicious, but rather a reminder of the susceptibility of unlocked and unsecured iPhones to phishing attacks.

The 21-year-old also noted the worm only affected the handsets of owners who had failed to reset default security passwords once the phones had been unlocked.

Writing on his Twitter site, Towns noted the deciphered code also contained an ‘explanation’ of his intentions in developing the worm.

“People are stupid, and this is to prove it so RTFM. Its not that hards [sic] guys. But hey who cares, its only your bank details at stake.”

Because the handsets affected were purchased and used independently of network contracts, authorities will struggle to prosecute Towns for developing and spreading the code.

(Still, at the very least, the contents of his tweet suggest nothing should save him from the Grammar Police. – ed.)

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