It’s not like we need more reasons to hate iMessage. But we don’t really have to look very hard. A security researcher has claimed that Apple’s messaging service is used to send over 30 per cent of all mobile spam out there.
“It’s almost like a spammer’s dream,” says Tom Landesman from security and anti-spam company Cloudmark in this Wired article. “With four lines of code, using Apple scripts, you can tell your Mac machine to send message to whoever they want.” Last month, Cloud mark issued a sweeping warning about an iMessage spamming campaign that was targeting users in New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami.
Here’s what makes iMessage such a great tool for spamming:
- Since iMessage on the desktop instantly tells you whether a number is registered with the iMessage network, spammers can generate a list of verified iMessage users. It also notifies spammers whether a message has been read or not.
- All you need to register for an iMessage account is an email address
- There’s zilch that mobile carriers can do about it since it’s not their networks that carry iMessages.
- Reporting a spammer to Apple is a royal pain in the behind.
Damn you, iMessage! [Wired]