So youve heard about the iPhone virus? It seems like everyone has by now. But the pressing question is: Is there a virus out there? The answer to that is yes”It was developed over a two and a half week period by Charlie Miller, principal analyst at Independent Security Evaluators. That begs the question: If Charlie did it, when will a malicious virus infect iPhone users and what can they do to protect themselves?

First, lets start with what Charlie did. Through research, he learned that if there is a malformed SMS message, the iPhone becomes confused. And while in this confused state, the iPhone handles the data inside the message differently, thus making itself vulnerable to the possibility of remote hijackings. The data on your phone is also vulnerable. In theory, you could go to your banks website on the iPhone browser and the hacker could see you enter all your vitals, including passwords. They could see the data in your applications and, essentially, gain control of the phone.

If a bad guy were to write such code or something similar, millions of iPhones would be at risk (this also includes Android phones and those operating with Windows Mobile too). This gaping hole in the armor could use the remote command to install malware on the iPhone, which could theoretically turn your camera on and start recording sound. Imagine all the ways a remote hijacker could use that tool. Pretty frightening stuff.

What to do? Right now it looks like there is nothing you can do but wait until Apple or one of the major security firms comes up with a patch or a protective shield that you could install. But what it comes down to is the fact that mobile devices such as iPhones are becoming increasingly important in the conduction of business. And the private information held within these mobile devices will become more and more at risk. We can only suggest that you to protect your iPhone. Stay abreast of potential threats and explore ways to protect yourself from the coming threats your iPhone’s security.