Several iOS developers targeted with iMessage denial-of-service attack

One of the nicer features of Apple’s iMessage messaging platform is the fact that it can work on the desktop — but it appears that also opens it up to abuse. As The Next Web reports, several prominent iOS developers have had their iMessage accounts flooded with messages from at least one person claiming to be part of Anonymous. The “hack,” such as it is, appears to simply be using Applescript to automate sending multiple messages very quickly from a desktop client. In Grant Paul’s case, the attackers began sending long strings of Unicode characters, completely locking up his iMessage app.

Since iMessage can be tied to an email address, it’s fairly trivial for somebody to guess it and begin spamming messages. The best solution is for Apple to act quickly to recognize and then block people who are abusing the iMessage service, and then perhaps later on add a whitelist feature that consumers could turn on. Hopefully it will do both, as right now the company’s track record in responding quickly and efficiently to security issues isn’t exactly stellar.