A bug in Apple's iPhone OS gives thieves a way to unlock stolen iPhones and make telephone calls. A bug in Apple’s iPhone OS gives thieves a way to unlock stolen iPhones and make telephone calls.The flaw was first reported late Friday on the MacRumors discussion forum and is very much like other, similar bugs discovered in iOS over the past few years. In an Internet video, one user shows how it works on a phone that requires a security passcode before it will work. By hitting the Emergency Call button and then tapping ###, Call, and then quickly hitting Lock, he is able to open up the iPhone’s Phone program, look up the owner’s contacts and make telephone calls to any phone number. No other iPhone applications are accessible, however, so the bug can’t be exploited to, say, send or read e-mail messages.WebSense Security Manager Patrick Runald said he tried the hack on non-jailbroken versions of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS and found it worked on both products. In discussion forums, users say that the bug also affects jailbroken phones. It has apparently been fixed in the Beta 3 version of iOS 4.2. Apple will fix the problem next month, according to company spokeswoman Trudy Muller. “We’re aware of the issue and we will deliver a fix to our customers as part of the iOS 4.2 software update in November,” she said.This isn’t the first time that Apple has had to deal with this type of bug. Apple has already fixed Passcode Lock glitches twice this year, and two years ago the company also had to fix a similar bug. That patch was part of a January 2008 iPhone security update. For some reason the flaw resurfaced when Apple released the iPhone 2.0 a few months later, and Apple again had to issue a patch.Robert McMillan covers computer security and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Robert on Twitter at @bobmcmillan. Robert’s e-mail address is robert_mcmillan@idg.com Related content news analysis Companies are already feeling the pressure from upcoming US SEC cyber rules New Securities and Exchange Commission cyber incident reporting rules don't kick in until December, but experts say they highlight the need for greater collaboration between CISOs and the C-suite By Cynthia Brumfield Sep 28, 2023 6 mins Regulation Data Breach Financial Services Industry news UK data regulator warns that data breaches put abuse victims’ lives at risk The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has reprimanded seven organizations in the past 14 months for data breaches affecting victims of domestic abuse. By Michael Hill Sep 28, 2023 3 mins Electronic Health Records Data Breach Government news EchoMark releases watermarking solution to secure private communications, detect insider threats Enterprise-grade software embeds AI-driven, forensic watermarking in emails and documents to pinpoint potential insider risks By Michael Hill Sep 28, 2023 4 mins Communications Security Threat and Vulnerability Management Security Software news SpecterOps to use in-house approximation to test for global attack variations The new offering uses atomic tests and in-house approximation in purple team assessment to test all known techniques of an attack. By Shweta Sharma Sep 28, 2023 3 mins Penetration Testing Network Security Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe