According to Network Engineer Andreas Grant at Networks Hardware, there are three major signs you should look out for when it comes to a phone hack.
1. Your iPhone gets slow
“The most common thing that happens when an iPhone gets hacked is that it slows down dramatically, often this happens what feels like overnight,” Grant says. “This is either because a malware has changed the program or that it runs in the background consuming CPU.”
2. High data usage
“Often if an iPhone gets hacked, it will increase its data usage a lot, often by double or triple [the] amount,” Grant says. “This is most often because of a malware that is collecting personal information and sends it back to its server. You can look at data usage per app to check to find what app stands out.”
3. Pop-ups
“If you all of a sudden begin to experience spammy pop-ups more than usual it could be a sign that your device is compromised,” Grant says. “If this is the case you probably have a malware called adware. It makes the device show you specific ads that drive revenue through clicks.”
So you suspect you've been hacked. Now what?
Russell Kent-Payne, director and co-founder of Certo Software, says one of the most important steps you can take to secure your privacy is to enable two-factor authentication for your Apple ID.
“If someone knows or finds out your password for your Apple ID, for example through a Phishing attack, then they could potentially have access to everything on your phone,” Kent-Payne says. “It is sensible to back-up your iPhone regularly in case of loss, breakage or theft, but this iCloud copy could be a point of vulnerability if your Apple ID isn’t secure. Because if this, everyone should have two-factor authentication enabled on their iOS device to protect any data they store in iCloud. Even if you don’t backup to iCloud, a compromised Apple ID can still be used to read your messages, view photos and/or track your location. So change this one simple setting to keep your phone safe and your data secure.”