iPhones that are jailbroken could be vulnerable to a new, malicious worm that can allow remote access and control without the owner's knowledge or permission.

Currently users in the Netherlands that use the bank ING Direct are affected. A security company F-Secure told the BBC that the currently isolated issue could easily jump to thousands of handsets. The worm is reportedly spread between phones when they share the same Wi-Fi spot.

As we said in our previous News item on the danger of jailbreaking the iPhone, in order for an iPhone to be vulnerable to the new worm, they must have willingly modified their handset's software to allow them to run unauthorized code. Phones can be jailbroken to run applications or modify the system in ways not approved by Apple.

The worm only affects jailbroken phones that have SSH (secure shell) installed, without the default password -- "alpine" — changed.

But the new worm reportedly has botnet functionality and connects to a Web-based command and control center based in Lithuania.

For now, the worm is only aimed at customers who live in the Netherlands and bank with ING Direct.

OUR ADVICE: Don't Jailbreak your iPhone!