While iPhones are praised for their superior security, they are not invulnerable and cannot ensure that they are impregnable against all malicious attacks. A highly skilled hacker can break through the shield in a variety of ways, such as capturing sensitive information on public Wi-Fi networks, exploiting potential security vulnerabilities in iOS systems, or infiltrating our applications to plant malware. In this guide, we'll break down the various ways your iPhone can be hacked, reveal the warning signs that your iPhone may be in a security threat, and talk about a series of defenses to ensure that our iPhone is effectively protected from hackers.
l Our iPhone is at risk of being hacked and may be infected with various viruses or malware as a result.
l If you find that there are unfamiliar apps on your iPhone that you haven't installed, or the battery is running out unusually quickly, or even a friend has received an inexplicable message from your phone, then our iPhone may have been hacked.
l Unsecured Wi-Fi connection.
When we connect our iPhones to public Wi-Fi hotspots without using a virtual private network (VPN), hackers can easily steal our sensitive personal information, including all kinds of private data such as passwords.
l No updates installed.
When Apple realizes that hackers are able to exploit security vulnerabilities in iPhones, they usually act quickly to release corresponding security updates to fix those vulnerabilities. If our iPhone does not have the latest security patches installed, then it is likely to be in a vulnerable state.
l Install unsafe applications.
Although iPhones are more secure against viruses and malware than Android phones, it is still possible for hackers to gain unrestricted access to iPhones if an installed app or profile is planted by a hacker who implants a Trojan.
● Someone is able to achieve direct contact or access to their own iPhone.
If someone gets their iPhone, and the device doesn't have a screen lock passcode, or they already know how to unlock it, they will be able to access all the information in our phone. There is even the possibility that they may tamper with our Apple ID passwords, which can have serious consequences.
l The charging dock steals data.
Connecting your iPhone to a public charging dock or any untrusted charging device can pose a potential threat to your phone's security. Although the technology of directly stealing data through the charging process is not as widespread as previously thought, it is possible for hackers to use specially crafted data cables to quietly steal user data while providing charging services.
l Unknown apps appear on the home screen.
If we find an application in the home screen or application library of our iPhone that we have not personally installed, it could most likely mean that someone has gained unauthorized access to our device.
l Strange profile.
Please open your iPhone's "Settings" and select "General", "VPN" or "VPN & Device Management". In this list, if we find a profile that we did not install by ourselves, it most likely means that our iPhone has been hacked.
l The microphone and camera indicators are on.
If you notice a colored dot on the notification bar, it could be a sign that hackers are using the camera or using a microphone to listen to their activity. Specifically, a green dot indicates that an app is accessing our camera, while an orange dot indicates that an app is enabling and listening to the microphone.
l Friends and family receive strange messages.
It is possible for hackers to use our iPhones to send phishing text messages or carry out other forms of scams. If someone reports that they have received an abnormal message from our phone and are confused about it, then it may be a sign that their iPhone has been hacked.
l Unable to access your Apple ID
If someone successfully hacks our iPhone, they may tamper with our Apple ID password, which can lead to the loss of access to our Apple devices and iCloud accounts. If we find that we can't reset the password normally and we are locked out of the device and iCloud services, it is most likely a sign that our iPhone has been hacked.
l Abnormal battery and data usage.
If our iPhone suddenly loses its battery unusually quickly, or consumes significantly more data than usual, it may be due to malware running in the background.
l Sudden and noticeable decrease in running speed.
Has your iPhone suddenly slowed down significantly or the body is unusually hot? While it's natural for iPhone performance to degrade over time, sudden and noticeable performance drops and overheating issues can be caused by hacking or malware infections.
The number of pop-up ads has increased unusually high.
If you suddenly notice that ads are frequent and intrusive, or if you see an unusually high number of ad impressions while browsing the web, it could be a sign that we have malware installed on our phones.
l Disconnect from the Internet.
If you suspect that someone has hacked into your iPhone, the first step is to disconnect the device from Wi-Fi and mobile data networks, as hackers can usually only remotely control our iPhone while it is connected to the Internet.
Delete apps you don't recognize.
On our iPhone, any software or app that is not installed by ourselves and is not pre-installed by the system by default can become a potential way for hackers to hack into the phone.
To see all the apps installed on your iPhone, swipe left to the App Library, tap the search bar at the top of the screen, and scroll through the entire list of apps. To delete an app, press and hold the app icon and select the "Delete App" option from the pop-up menu.
● Delete the configuration file that you don't recognize.
For delete profile, open your iPhone's Settings, then select General, then VPN, or VPN & Device Management, tap on the profile, and select Delete Profile.
l Scan for viruses and malware.
Running a security scan can identify and remove any malware that may allow hackers to hack your iPhone. We can get well-known security apps such as 360 Mobile Guard, Tencent Mobile Manager or Mobile Guard from the App Store to scan and kill.
l Contact your bank and credit card provider**.
If your credit or debit card is linked to your wallet or iCloud account, it's important to contact your bank promptly to check for unauthorized transactions and consider taking steps to disconnect your card from your wallet or iCloud account to keep your account secure.
l Change your password on another device.
Once hackers have successfully hacked into our iPhones, they are likely to try to access our other linked accounts as well. Therefore, all passwords should be changed as soon as possible on a safe and secure device to keep your account secure.
l Conduct security checks.
Our iPhones have a built-in feature that helps us know who we're sharing information with and what specific data types are being shared. If we find an anomaly while using this tool, we can use the security check feature to reset all permissions and change the password in time to improve security.
Go to "Settings", "Privacy" or "Privacy & Security", "Security Checkup", tap "Manage Sharing & Access", and follow the on-screen guidance to view and control everything your current iPhone is sharing in detail to increase its security.
In addition, we can also select the "Emergency Reset" option directly in the main security checkup screen to quickly reset all the apps and their corresponding permissions, including those who have access to our iPhone.
l Reset your iPhone
The only effective way to get rid of hackers completely is to perform a complete reset operation on your iPhone. Doing a factory reset will erase all data on your iPhone, and it will also remove all the backdoors installed by the hackers. We can go to "Settings", "General", "Reset", and then click "Erase All Content & Settings" to reset your iPhone.
But it should be noted that once our iPhone is reset, our personal data will all be erased, such as ** and so on.
l Do not use public Wi-Fi that cannot be confirmed
Whenever we are ready to connect our iPhone to a Wi-Fi network, we must make sure that we know what kind of Wi-Fi network we are connecting to, such as the official one at the airport.
l Turn on automatic updates.
If our iPhones are set to automatically update their systems when Apple releases security patches, then the risk of zero-day exploits will be greatly reduced.
l Turn on the "Find My iPhone" function.
Find My iPhone is a powerful anti-theft and tracking feature built into iOS devices. After turning it on, even if the device is lost, we can remotely lock the device, wipe the data or locate the device, effectively preventing the leakage of personal information.
We can go to "Settings", "Own Name", "Find My", "Find My iPhone" in turn, and turn on the "Find My iPhone" function.
l Enable two-factor authentication.
Enabling two-factor authentication for our Apple ID can effectively prevent hackers from accessing our accounts even after obtaining the password. We can enable two-factor authentication in "Settings", "My Name", "Password & Security" to ensure the security of the account.
l Do not install apps from other app stores.
Please do not try to jailbreak your iPhone, and do not install unofficial** apps on your device, as these software that has not been officially reviewed by Apple may have security risks. To minimize the possibility of hackers planting backdoors, always download apps from the App Store.
l Beware of phishing.
Hackers can trick us into revealing passwords and personal information through text messages, emails, and pop-ups. To stay safe, it's important to avoid clicking on links in emails, text messages, and pop-up messages from unknown** sources unless we can confirm that they're from a trusted sender.
l Disable Bluetooth when it is not in use.
Experienced hackers can hack through Bluetooth near our iPhone. If we are not actively using Bluetooth to connect to the device, tap on the Bluetooth icon in the Control Center to disable it.
l Use a unique password.
Logging into multiple accounts with the same password is obviously a security risk. That's because, once a hacker obtains our password for a service in a data breach, it is possible for them to use that password to access all accounts that use the same password. To avoid this, it is necessary and especially necessary to have unique passwords for each account.
● Manage and control the privacy settings of Safari and other apps.
Configure the privacy settings of Safari and other apps according to your individual needs, such as limiting tracking, disabling cookies, or automatically clearing history and data when browsing is over.
I've written about clearing your internet history before, so if you're interested, you can check it out.
How do I clear my browsing history or browser cache? Both computers and mobile phones are suitable for Overall, in the digital age, keeping the iPhone safe is an indispensable and ongoing task. In order to effectively protect the security of personal information, users should always be vigilant and actively adopt a series of comprehensive strategies, including setting strong passwords, enabling biometric functions, enabling Find My iPhone, regularly updating systems and apps, adopting two-factor authentication, installing apps carefully, and finely managing privacy settings. Only in this way can we enjoy the convenience brought by the iPhone while effectively defending the security of our digital life.
Information Security