World Scene: Australia

First iPhone worm

An Australian student has created what is thought to be the world's first iPhone worm, which replaces the popular device's wallpaper with a picture of 1980s pop icon Rick Astley. Ashley Towns, a 21-year-old technical college student, said he concocted the worm to raise awareness about security. "This virus exploits people's laziness to change their password," he said, according to public broadcaster ABC.

Towns' "Ikee" worm swaps the popular smartphone's wallpaper with an image of Astley and the slogan "Ikee is never gonna give you up". The virus is easily removed by deleting a few files. "The virus is not malicious," he said.