One in two iPhone users at risk – What Duo Security's revealing research shows
According to new research from Duo Security, at least 50% of all iPhone have outdated versions of iOS, putting their users at risk.
According to the company's estimates, about half of all Apple smartphones run on iOS 8.3 or an earlier version of the operating system, which means it has not received critical updates to fix at least 100 known vulnerabilities, including the notorious Ins0mnia and Quicksand.
“The first vulnerability allows “violation of regulations related to application backgrounds” and can be exploited to intercept data, drain battery power, and monitor devices, while the second vulnerability exposes corporate credentials and sensitive config data,” says Duo Security research director Mike Hanley.
According to the survey results, 31% of iPhones run iOS 8.2 or earlier, exposing users to more than 160 security vulnerabilities that have been patched in later versions. In addition, 14% of devices run iOS 7 or earlier, making them vulnerable to more than 230 known security vulnerabilities.
Duo Security estimates that there are about 20 million iPhones today that have older hardware and are therefore unable to receive security updates. If Apple ends support for the 4S devices as well, that number will rise to 60 million.
