• Hacking News
    • Leaks
    • WikiLeaks
    • Anonymous
  • Tech
    • Android
    • Apple News
    • BlackBerry
    • Google News
    • Microsoft
    • Motorola
    • Nokia
    • Samsung
    • 3D
  • Cyber Crime
    • Phishing Scam
  • How To
  • Cyber Events
    • Censorship
    • Cyber Attacks
  • Security
    • Malware
  • Surveillance
    • Drones
    • NSA
    • Privacy
  • Explore
    • Gaming
    • Science
    • Viral
HackRead
  • April 20th, 2021
  • Home
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
HackRead
  • Hacking News
    • Leaks
    • WikiLeaks
    • Anonymous
  • Tech
    • Android
    • Apple News
    • BlackBerry
    • Google News
    • Microsoft
    • Motorola
    • Nokia
    • Samsung
    • 3D
  • Cyber Crime
    • Phishing Scam
  • How To
  • Cyber Events
    • Censorship
    • Cyber Attacks
  • Security
    • Malware
  • Surveillance
    • Drones
    • NSA
    • Privacy
  • Explore
    • Gaming
    • Science
    • Viral
  • Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
Home
Security

Vulnerability that lets hackers hack Snapchat and disable your iPhone

February 10th, 2014 Pushpa Mishra Security 0 comments
Vulnerability that lets hackers hack Snapchat and disable your iPhone
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Snapchat app vulnerability is highlighted again, and this time the hackers can temporarily freeze your iPhone and force restart, according to media reports.

vulnerability-that-lets-hackers-hack-your-snapchat-account-and-destroy-your-iphone

A Spanish researcher, Jaime Sanchez, along with another researcher have discovered a flaw in the Snapchat’s code that makes it possible for the hackers to launch denial-of-service attack.

Sending thousands of messages at one time through Snapchat to an individual user can cause the iPhone to freeze and eventually crash forcing the user to do a hard reset. If the apps is being used on an Android device, though the flaw does not cause it to crash, but it definitely slows down the device to such an extent that the application cannot be used till the hack is under process.

Snapchat is a popular mobile application for iPhone and Android that allows users to send across photos and videos. Once received, the messages gets deleted after being opened. Every time a user sends a message, a code is created to verify the user’s identity. The code called token is a combination of letters and numbers.

The drawback with the Snapchat apps, as discovered by Sanchez, is that it allows the used tokens to be re-used and this can be channelized by hackers to send new messages. 

Sanchez demonstrated the Snapchat’s vulnerability to Los Angeles Times reporter Salvador Rodriguez by sending 1000 messages within 5 seconds to his iPhone causing the application to freeze and then crash. 

Sanchez wrote about his flaw discovery on seguridadofensiva.com but has not contacted Snapchat because of the latter’s lack of respect for the cyber security research committee. 

Earlier in August and December 2013, Snapchat was informed about a flaw that could divulge user data by Gibson Security. But it fell on their deaf ears and another group exploited the information to reveal the user names and phone numbers of nearly 5 million Snapchat subscribers.

When LATimes contacted Snapchat about the flaw reported by Sanchez, the company spokeswoman appeared ignorant but did say that they were interested to learn about it and gave their email address to be contacted.

However, the official website does contain a message informing users about their work on the vulnerability and their plans to contact Sanchez on the latest threat.

Meanwhile, Sanchez claims that his Snapchat account and IP address have been blocked by the app. The company could not be contacted to comment on that.

Follow @HackRead

  • Tags
  • DDOS
  • Flaw
  • hacking
  • Leaked
  • LEAKS
  • NEWS
  • security
  • Snapchat
  • SocialMedia
  • Vulnerability
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest
Previous article Another target for Hackers: A small device that can hack a car! (Video Added)
Next article Anonymous Whistleblower reveals U.S. uses unreliable NSA cell phone location data to drone civilians.
Pushpa Mishra

Pushpa Mishra

Pushpa is a Dubai based scientific academic editor who worked for Reuters' Zawya business magazine and at the same time a passionate writer for HackRead. From the very first day she has been a blessing for team Hackread. Thanks to her dedication and enthusiasm.

Related Posts
WhatsApp Pink is malware spreading through group chats

WhatsApp Pink is malware spreading through group chats

2021 and Emerging Cybersecurity Threats

2021 and Emerging Cybersecurity Threats

Unpatched MS Exchange servers hit by cryptojacking malware

Unpatched MS Exchange servers hit by cryptojacking malware

Newsletter

Get the best stories straight into your inbox!



Don’t worry, we don’t spam

Latest Posts
Hackers claims to be selling 13tb of Domino’s India data
Hacking News

Hackers claims to be selling 13tb of Domino’s India data

WhatsApp Pink is malware spreading through group chats
Security

WhatsApp Pink is malware spreading through group chats

A hacker claims to be selling sensitive data from OTP generating firm
Hacking News

A hacker claims to be selling sensitive data from OTP generating firm

HACKREAD is a News Platform that centers on InfoSec, Cyber Crime, Privacy, Surveillance and Hacking News with full-scale reviews on Social Media Platforms & Technology trends. Founded in 2011, HackRead is based in the United Kingdom.

Follow us