German agency partially lifts warning of security hole in iPhone software

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German agency: security fix available for iPhone

BERLIN — Germany’s IT security agency has partially lifted its warning of a security hole concerning the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, saying Apple Inc. is now offering software to fix the problem in recent versions of its iOS operating system.

But the Federal Office for Information Security also said Thursday that older versions of iOS are still insecure as there is no security software update for them yet.

The agency put out its warning last week, saying opening a manipulated website or PDF file could allow criminals to spy on passwords, planners, photos, text messages, e-mails and even listen in on phone conversations. Apple later announced security updates.

The agency said patches are available for the iOS 4.0.2 version for the iPhone and the iPod Touch and iOS 3.2.2 for the iPad, but not for older versions.