Security vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone is said to make a rootkit take on a whole new meaning when combined with the access to the camera, microphone, contact list and phone hardware. The perfect spying device would be the result when further combined with an “always-on” Internet access. Hackers were able to exploit a bug in the device’s handling of TIFF images when they were trying to unlock it for use with carriers other than AT&T and for using third-party applications.

At least one renowned hacker says that the same bug can be used for far more nefarious exploits. When the bug is weaponized, the assault will present itself as a drive-by attack in which sites host seemingly innocuous images and other media, but actually perform dangerous actions when rendered in a Web browser.