Malware can attack iPhone even when 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.

Since 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 for some daily activities. However, it also opens the door to the risk of the phone being damaged. malicious code attack even when the power is turned off, unless the device crashes due to low battery” – technology site Nextweb describe.

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 has also sent the results to Apple and it is likely that the company will handle this issue for future devices” – technology page Nextweb identify.