Apple releases SMS fix a Mere 6 Weeks Later

Well its official now, Apple has released an update to patch the iPhone SMS vulnerability that was demonstrated at the Black Hat Security conference in Los Vegas on July 30, 2009. This update was pretty fast considering the security expert Charlie Miller just demonstrated the flaw yesterday. Although I still have to wonder if Apple had planned to release this update a while ago – considering Miller brought the security flaw to Apple’s attention approximately 6 weeks ago.

According to sources Apple’s Rep Tom Neumayr released this statement.

We appreciate the information provided to us about SMS vulnerabilities which affect several mobile phone platforms. This morning, less than 24 hours after a demonstration of this exploit, we’ve issued a free software update that eliminates the vulnerability from the iPhone. Contrary to what’s been reported, no one has been able to take control of the iPhone to gain access to personal information using this exploit.

The iPhone OS 3.0.1 update is, of course, free and can be downloaded by connecting your iPhone to your computer and firing up the iTunes application. Depending on your settings you may have to click the update button on your iPhone connectivity screen to begin the download. At just over 230 MB be prepared to spent quite a few minutes completing this process.