How a bug breaks Wi-Fi in iPhone

The expert told about the danger of the Wi-Fi network bug in the iPhone. A cybersecurity researcher has discovered a strange bug in iOS devices - if the iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi network with a certain name, it will completely lose the ability to use the wireless network. Users have found a temporary solution to this problem, but it is quite complicated and not suitable for a common man in the street. Meanwhile, some experts argue that cybercriminals can exploit this vulnerability for their own purposes. 

According to Mashable , IOS devices can completely lose the ability to connect to Wi-Fi networks due to a strange bug discovered by information security researcher Karl Shue, 

For the first time, this vulnerability became known a few weeks ago, but Apple still has not fixed it. It works as follows - the iPhone connects to the network with a "%" in the name and then mysteriously loses Wi-Fi. Initially, Shu said that the problem lies only in a network called "% secretclub% power", but later it turned out that the bug also works when connecting to other networks with per cent signs in the name, for example - "% Free% Coffee at% Starbucks ".

Application to throw an error

As it turned out, it's all about the syntax of some programming languages, in which "%" is a format specifier. The system tries to read the wrong code, which causes the application to throw an error and stop working. 

At the same time, many users have not been able to return Wi-Fi to their devices, including Karl Shu.

Neither turning off the wireless connection nor completely restarting the iPhone helped. As a result, he manually made changes to the backup of the gadget, removing incorrect Wi-Fi networks from the list of "known networks". However, this method is not suitable for an ordinary user, as it requires a number of special knowledge. Given that Apple never released a patch with fixes, the iPhone owner runs the risk of being left without Wi-Fi for a long time - just because of one unsuccessful connection.

Cyber fraudsters can use to abuse this vulnerability.

Although this bug does not result in data loss or compromise, there are a number of schemes that cyber fraudsters can use to abuse this vulnerability. 

“The most likely victim, in this case, is a lost tourist who needs free internet. The most suitable place for a scam would be a crowded place, for example, a transport hub. Attackers create an open-access network with "%" characters in the name and closely monitor people. Having tracked down a bewildered user of a broken iPhone in the crowd, they go to "help" him.

Scammers, for example, a couple of attractive girls, will explain that they know what the problem is with the gadget and ask them to log out. Further, an unlocked smartphone with reset settings in the hands of scammers is actually lost to the owner.

You can quickly change Face ID, set up a different Apple ID account, and suggest going to the police to investigate since the smartphone has already changed its owner by formal indications. According to the experts, In the "Keys and Passwords" application, you can pull out all the passwords of a user via AirDrop, see what his phone number is, and which bank he uses in order to further attack him with phishing. You can also steal your Facebook account or any other social network, especially if two-factor authentication is not enabled.