APPLE has failed to protect iPhone user's data, privacy experts said.
Closing this loophole has helped vulnerable devices from falling victim to easy iCloud hacks.
Privacy specialists at Certo published findings that Wi-Fi Sync enabled on any iPhone and Mac pair leaves a huge hole in digital security, and they have created their own tool to switch it off in turn.
Anybody who has access to the computer using Sync has access to all the files on the phone through the cloud data that the two share.
To stop this, Certo created Wi-Fi Sync Checker to detect whether this potentially dangerous feature is in effect.
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This tool is a necessary edition, because "currently, there is nothing on your device to tell you that Wi-Fi Sync is enabled, and therefore you might be affected by this threat," Certo said.
In a notice to the public, they wrote: "Our researchers have recently discovered a new method that spyware developers are using to facilitate cyberstalking on iPhones...this new method is particularly interesting because of just how easy it is to set up, and how difficult it is to detect."
Accessing cloud storage "means that the stalker can access most of the data on the phone without the need for much technical knowledge, and with little fear of being found out."
In some cases, this manifests as a hacker downloading parental monitoring apps.
These apps offer quick installation, "with no lockouts" and "no jailbreak required," Certo said.
SMS messages sent and received, deleted messages, photos, web history, call records, WhatsApp messages, and location data are all accessed through a web portal by the hacker.
It is a problem for Apple to fix, but Certo is offering a free solution in the interim.
While current iOS systems use a spinning circle in the corner of the screen as the only indicator that the feature is on, Wi-Fi Sync Checker allows iPhone users to check and change the status from any desktop at no cost.
