I was interested to see Apple’s reputation for being immune to many of the viruses and other nasties that circulate in computer-land may not be as rock-solid as previously thought.

According to a report in The Independent online, it seems the flagship iPhone is not as safe as was thought, with hackers able to hi-jack the phone and prevent it from being able to send or receive calls.

Remember this is Apple we’re talking about. The same company millions of Mac users crowed about for years saying “Apple products don’t get viruses”. Looks like it’s a claim they may not be able to make much longer. Which is a shame, because it currently gives (gave?) Apple a significant competitive advantage.

Apple is taking the threat seriously and moving to close down operational functionality within the phones the hackers can exploit. Which is probably a good thing, given that the two friendly “hackers” who discovered the glitch – Collin Mulliner and Charlie Miller – claim it would take just weeks for genuine malicious hackers to exploit the weakness.

“If we don’t talk about it, somebody is going to do it silently. The bad guys are going to do it no matter what,” said Mulliner, a PhD student in telecommunications security at the Technical University of Berlin. Mulliner said they’d gone public with the claim in the hope that Apple would address the flaw.

One of the myths of reputation is that it’s static. Once it’s earned, it stays as it is. It doesn’t. A reputation is completely dynamic, changing over time as a result of a large number of variables. The challenge for all of us “individuals and companies” is to retain the essence of a positive reputation whilst moving with the times and adapting to changing circumstances.

You could be the best producer of VHS cassettes on the planet, but it won’t help if you didn’t adapt to the demand for CDs and DVDs. Keeping track of what people want, and adapting to the changing environment we live in, is essential in maintaining a positive reputation.

Apple’s reputation won’t crumble, but it’s a timely wake-up call for them and their fans.