Malicious code can attack iPhone even when powered off-Information Technology

Malware can penetrate and attack iPhone even when the device is powered off.

The warning was issued by researchers at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany, after exploiting a vulnerability from low power mode on iPhones from 2018. This mode allows NFC chip, ultra-wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth consume a small amount of power when the machine is turned off.

From iOS 15, this chip can work indefinitely, helping to locate phones through the Find My app, as well as pay and unlock the car even when the power is off.

“This feature is useful in case the phone is lost or needs to be used in some daily activities. However, it also opens the risk of the phone being attacked by malicious code even when the phone is powered off, unless it crashes. source due to battery drain” – Technology page Nextweb describes.

Malware can attack iPhone even when it’s stopped working. Photo: Nextweb

The Bluetooth chip on the iPhone has firmware (a permanent computer program and low-level control of many electronic devices) that operates independently of the central processor. Experts point out that the firmware has no protection against editing methods and that attackers can activate Bluetooth malware after the device is turned off.

The Bluetooth chip and UWB are connected to the Secure Element security system in the iPhone’s NFC chip. This makes it possible for the data in the “security chip” to be compromised through the Bluetooth chip’s firmware.

“Low power mode is hardware-enforced and cannot be eliminated with software updates. Therefore, firmware-level vulnerabilities through this mode are difficult to detect, in some cases detected only when the battery drains rapidly,” the team said.

However, experts also emphasize that the vulnerability is only exploited on jailbroken iPhones, greatly reducing the risk to ordinary users.

“The research team also sent the results to Apple and it is likely that the company will handle this problem for devices in the future “- Technology page Nextweb commented.