Apple’s OS X platform has long been recognised as one of the most stable and security concious operating system available, mainly due to it being built around the UNIX platform. However, with OS X installed on the iPhone, IBM’s security division, Internet Security Systems, believes that the amount of attention Apple has drawn toward the iPhone will prove to be some-what of a bad thing.

Neel Mehta, team leader of ISS, told Information Week that because Apple is so good at creating interest about a product that is yet to be released, the iPhone will become a “definite target”.

“We’ve been following it since it was announced. It’s going to be challenging for the bad guys to exploit them like they do other [smart phones], but there will be a lot of individuals willing to try because of the amount of buzz around it. We’ve seen some very determined attacks on other mobile phone platforms, like the Symbian platform. A lot of these attacks are going to be very hard to launch against the iPhone.”

“They’re [Apple] not telling anyone how to write applications that run on the iPhone,” added Mehta. “It’s going to be much harder to write worms or viruses for that platform. Most malware written today for mobile platforms has been developed using software developer kits from the manufacturers. The lack of that on the iPhone will make it harder for people to develop malware for it.”

Basically, while attacks on the iPhone are less likely than on other Smart Phones, users should beware and keep their phone up to date, which won’t be too much of a problem if you’re constantly connecting the iPhone to your computer to sync your data.

[Via Macworld UK]