New iOS malware should make you think twice about jailbreaking your iPhone

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Information about the Apple accounts of more than 200,000 iPhone users who "jailbroke" their phones has been stolen by cybercriminals who could use the data to lock the phones and hold them for ransom, according to Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity research firm. Apple keeps tight control over what apps are allowed on iPhones, running basic security tests before allowing them to be downloaded.

But some iPhone users have bristled at such restrictions, and to escape them, some people "jailbreak" their phones -- taking steps to get around restrictions built into the devices so can they install things not available in the official App Store. That's legal at the moment thanks to the Library of Congress, which approved an exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, allowing consumers to jailbreak their smartphones. But Apple discourages the practice. And this incident is a good example of why: Jailbreaking a phone can lead to new security risks.


New iOS malware should make you think twice about jailbreaking your iPhone