Security holes found on iPhones

SAN FRANCISCO – A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world’s hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks.

Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple, the world’s largest technology company by market value, said Thursday that it is working on a fix that will be distributed in an upcoming software upgrade.

With the security hole, an attacker can get malicious software onto a device by tricking its owner into clicking an infected PDF file. Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security called the flaws “critical weaknesses” in Apple’s iOS operating system.

The latest concerns were prompted by the emergence of a new version of a program to allow Apple devices to run any software and circumvent the restrictions that Apple notoriously retains over software distributed through its online store. There are security risks in doing so, but many people find it liberating to install their own software.

Although this program is something people would seek out, the weaknesses that its authors discovered could easily be used for malice, security experts say.

Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is “aware of this reported issue and developing a fix.” She would not say when the update will be available.