It only takes 1 minute to hack an iPhone, according to security researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The GIT team has built a modified wall charger that exploits an iOS security flaw and can install undetectable malware onto your iPhone, iPad, or other iOS device in less than 60 seconds upon being plugged in.

The USB charger, called a Mactan, is set to be unveiled in a demonstration at the Black Hat 2013 security conference in September, so much of the findings are still hush-hush. But from what we already know, the malware works in such a way that apps are immediately installed yet still remain hidden, similar to Apple's built-in software. That alone is alarming because they can go completely undetected and are virtually untraceable to the user. But rumor has it that the apps then have the ability to strip your phone of all personal information — photos, passwords, information from other apps, etc.

In a promo for Black Hat 2013, the researchers describe the security flaw on fully up-to-date iOS devices: “Apple iOS devices are considered by many to be more secure than other mobile offerings. [But] despite the plethora of defense mechanisms in iOS, we successfully injected arbitrary software into current-generation Apple devices running the latest operating system (OS) software. All users are affected, as our approach requires neither a jailbroken device nor user interaction.”

The charger itself is apparently built around an open-source single-board computer known as a Texas Instruments BeagleBoard (cost: $45), so the researchers will likely point out how cheaply such a hack can be executed right now. 

According to Extreme Tech, the research team has told Apple about the serious iOS vulnerability on its hands, though Apple has yet to fix the problem. Stay tuned.