iOS App Tries to Warn You of iPhone Hacking Attempts

iVerify will periodically scan your iPhone to sniff out certain 'side effects' that exploited iOS vulnerabilities tend to generate.

A new iOS app launching today promises to detect whether your iPhone has been secretly hacked.

The iVerify app comes from security firm Trail of Bits, and it's been designed to periodically scan your device for "security anomalies" that can indicate whether it's been tampered with. If an abnormality is found, the app will show you how you can secure your device.

The $4.99 app addresses a gap in iOS's security: Previously, consumers had no tool to detect whether an iPhone was hacked. As Motherboard notes, Apple has generally locked down all access to iOS's internal processes, making it hard for security researchers to examine the software for bugs. (It was only in August when Apple began issuing special developer iPhones to select security experts to find flaws.)

The company also bans antivirus products on the App Store. Apple has a strict rule against one app scanning another; all third-party programs have to be "sandboxed" from each other, which effectively bars antivirus scanning.

However, the iVerify app is no antivirus program, according to Trail of Bits. Instead, the product tries to sniff out the "side effects" that exploited iPhone vulnerabilities tend to generate, the company told Motherboard.

iVerify app

Keeping your iPhone updated with the latest version of iOS can protect you from hackers. But what about the software vulnerabilities Apple doesn't know about and thus can't patch? The danger was underscored earlier this year when Google discovered that hackers (likely connected to the Chinese government) had been using previously unknown iOS vulnerabilities to spy on users.

The iVerify app offers a potential safeguard against such attacks. To detect the side effects from exploited iPhone vulnerabilities, Trail of Bits studied all past public iPhone jailbreaks. These hacks involve exploiting old flaws to gain root access to iOS, which can allow you to install unauthorized third-party apps, including malware.

Specifically, the iVerify app will scan from a set of indicators, "about 30 or 300, depending on how you count," Dan Guido, CEO of Trail of Bits, told PCMag in an email. He went on to describe the app as a "security multitool," given that the product will come with a whole suite of features, including instructional guides to keep your iPhone activities private.

For example, the app includes a section on preventing data leakage. It'll then advise what settings on iOS you need to modify in order to limit ad tracking, disable location-based ads or stop data sharing with Apple's Siri voice assistant. Expect more guides and security features to be added to the app over time.

So far, Apple hasn't commented on the iVerify app. But in 2016, the company removed a similar security app from the App Store because it apparently had too much visibility into iOS.