At the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, researchers Charlie Miller and Colin Mulliner presented a security threat to the iPhone that could potentially affect consumers' outlook on mobile marketing.

The researchers showed that Apple's iPhone entered the marketplace with a few vulnerabilities, one of which being an SMS hole that allows hackers and attackers to search and control the device by sending a certain type of text message to the iPhone. Once hacked into the system, an attacker can steal data, send messages, use the applications on the phone and even make calls.

"With about 21 million iPhones out there this presents a serious problem to Apple, their customers and the industry," said Dave Everett, vice president and partner at KaOoga, Newton, MA.

"Unfortunately, this event may be our first glimpse at what the mobile industry will face in the future," he said. "As mobile phones become more personal every day with banking and credit card info all accessible instantly, hackers appear like roaches in the dark."

While Apple has created a patch for the bug and delivered it before it was originally scheduled to be debuted, there still may be fear among consumers as to what kind of attack will show itself next time around.

The attack takes the form of a square box within a single text message that can search and control the phone even if the message has not been opened yet.

Apple has warned its users to turn off their iPhone immediately if they receive such a message and to keep iPhones off at night, when most users do not regularly check their phone.

The longer the attacker has access to the phone, the more damage can be done.

"Apple has demonstrated through its rapid response to addressing the security hole that the effect on mobile marketing will be minimal," said Michael J. Becker, vice president of mobile strategy at iLoop Mobile, San Jose, CA.

"SMS marketing is an incredibly valuable tool for generating interactivity between brand and consumer, irrespective of the platform it's done through," he said.

"As the world of mobile goes, the iPhone is a very small percentage of the market, less than 2 percent."

The SMS hole was not the only vulnerability shaking up the smartphone world, as there are other security issues that potentially allow an attacker to take control of the device through a WiFi connection or by luring the user to a Web site.

Reportedly, Google's Android and devices that work on Windows Mobile operating systems may be open to the same type of threat.

To download the patch, iPhone users must connect the device to their PC. Inside iTunes, click on the device and then click on the "Summary" tab.

Users can override their scheduled updates by clicking "Check for new updates," which will automatically link the user to the proper update to obtain the patch.

While these threats may make iPhone users weary, industry players have indicated that with Apple's speedy response to the vulnerabilities, there is little to worry about.

"As an industry best practice, nearly all brand-originated text messages begin with the brand or program name so that recipients can see who the SMS is coming from before deciding whether or not to open the message," said Michael Foschetti, managing director of Mobisix, Charlotte, NC.

"For these reasons, I do not believe that the presence of this iPhone bug will negatively affect SMS mobile marketing," he said. "People will continue to use the iPhone and consumers will continue to obtain deals, offers and coupons by way of the mobile phone."