Bug With Hacked iPhones Is Broadcasting IMs to Random Recipients

Have a jailbroken (hacked) iPhone? Be careful what you instant message. An iPhone developer has discovered what may be a privacy leak that broadcasts your IMs to random, unintended recipients.

The issue is occurring in push IMs, which appear as alerts — a function enabled by Apple’s new push-notification feature in the latest iPhone 3.0 operating system, according to Till Schadde, founder of development company Equinux. Schadde said he discovered the error while testing push IMing in the AIM application. Schadde claims he sent an IM from his desktop to his jailbroken iPhone and received a reply from a random recipient.

The problem is likely tied to Apple’s push-notification server, which hosts messages from each iPhone based on its identifier. The theory, then, is jailbreaking the iPhones may be confusing the server, crossing over some IDs.

AOL is currently investigating the issue, according to Schadde.

Any jailbroken iPhone users out there experiencing this problem? Let us know in the comments below.

iPhone Push problem broadcasts your AIMs to random recipients, could affect jailbroken/unlocked phones [CrunchGear]

See Also:

• Battery Tests Confirm iPhone 3GS Improvements, But Complaints …
• Slow, Unreliable Wi-Fi Plaguing Some iPhone 3GS Units?
• You're Always Online With Push IM for iPhone
• Apple Debuts Aggressively Priced iPhone 3GS, MacBooks