http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/11/03/apple-iphone-bug-tech-security-cz_tb_1103iphone.html By Taylor Buley Security Forbes.com 11.03.08 Burlingame, Calif. - Italian systems engineer Piergiorgio Zambrini won fame and money last year when he created "Ziphone," the first widespread application that unlocked iPhones to run on mobile carriers other than AT&T. Now he's making another bid for the spotlight by revealing a bug that can crash the iPhone and, he says, other devices including iPods and Apple computers. Zambrini planned to publish news about the bug Monday--although he's saving the technical details for Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ), he says--at least for now. The 38-year-old security expert praises Apple's marketing prowess and calls Steve Jobs a genius. But there are chinks in Apple's software--and Zambrini is determined to uncover them. The bug Zambrini found is in the audio portion of Apple's video format. Knowing the bug exists, someone could write a program that incorporates the bug into a video file and trigger a crash whenever an iPhone attempts to run that file. The bug, which is located in a shared code library that is used across most Apple operating systems and some Linux ones as well, doesn't appear to cause any permanent damage, but immediately sends the device into a panic that leads to a lengthy reboot. Forbes.com has confirmed that it crashes the latest generation of iPhones. Zambrini asserts it can take down any Apple iPod or iPhone, too. [...] ______________________________________________ Visit the InfoSec News Security Bookstore Best Selling Security Books and More! http://www.shopinfosecnews.orgReceived on Mon Nov 03 2008 - 22:21:18 PST
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