IPhones are creating an increased security threat to businesses, especially when used with Wi-Fi networks, an Australian expert has warned.

Chris Gatford, senior security consultant at Pure Hacking, highlighted that the adoption by businesses of the iPhone will "elevate risk to a level never seen before."

[ For more on making the iPhone work in businesses, see InfoWorld's special report. ]

"We're going to find a lot of executives using the iPhone's push e-mail to combine their personal and business messages... combined with the ever-increasing use [on the iPhone] of Web 2.0 applications, there are a lot of vulnerabilities," Gatford said at the IDC SecurityVision conference in Sydney this week.

"Like it or not, there's about to be a whole lot more risks for a lot of organizations," he added.

Gatford identified the further increased risk when iPhones are used on Wi-Fi networks. "Wi-Fi spots aren't encrypted ... nor is a great amount of the information you receive from Web 2.0 applications."

Gatford also warned that as prices for data plans fall, Wi-Fi use will increase, which in turn will "increase the vulnerability of the iPhone."

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