iPhone Update Destroys iPhone Modifications

A security update for Apple Inc.'s iPhone does more than just fix critical flaws in the handset. It also looks for and wipes out any modifications that users make to the iPhone's firmware, according to hackers looking to unlock the phone.

But the security update does not break any of the tools that hackers have so far developed to modify the firmware, they said.

The iPhone Version 1.0.1 update primarily addresses a security flaw uncovered in the handset's Safari browser set to be detailed this week at the Black Hat 2007 conference in Las Vegas. That vulnerability, uncovered by researchers at Independent Security Evaluators (ISE), allows an attacker to access data and applications on the phone from a Wi-Fi access point or a malicious Web site.