Apple vows to fix security hole in iPhones, iPads

BERLIN — Apple says it is working on fixing a security hole in the software of its iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch that a Germany agency warned could be used by criminals to gain access to confidential data.

Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is “aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update.”

She declined to specify when the update would be available.

On Wednesday, Germany’s IT security agency had warned of “critical weaknesses” in Apple’s iOS operating system.

Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security warned that clicking on an infected PDF file “is sufficient to infect the mobile device with malware without the user’s knowledge” on several versions of Apple’s iOS operating system.