iPhones are not perfect, that much we know, and hackers are taking advantage of that by installing malware on them. A security company that goes by the name, Palo Alto Networks, says it has found a new type of attack on Apple's iPhones.

The firm calls the malware "AceDeceiver." Basically, after a user's personal computer has been infected, hackers can infect smartphones connected to that PC. They can even download and install malicious apps without the user's prior knowledge or without the user having to do a single thing.

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From what we have come to understand, this is one of the first piece of malware to infect factory configured iPhones that have not been customized by the user to run jailbroken apps.

"What makes AceDeceiver different from previous iOS malware is that instead of abusing enterprise certificates as some iOS malware has over the past two years, AceDeceiver manages to install itself without any enterprise certificate at all," according to Palo Alto Networks.

We understand that Apple has removed three malicuos apps from the App Store since Palo Alto Networks brought the information to Apple back in February about "AceDeceiver." We should also point out that AceDeciever only affects iPhone users in Mainland, China. However, Palo Alto Networks says the same procedure could be used to infect devices in other parts of the world.

This is a huge problem for Apple and other operating system developers. It's like a cat and mouse game when it comes down to keeping up with hackers, and this has been a long running problem with no end in sight. Often when a new bug is fixed, hackers find a new workaround and Apple is forced to return to the drawing board.

This latest issue comes at a time when Apple is in a fierce battle with the FBI over the agency's need to have Apple create a backdoor into its iPhone devices. Apple has rejected this, a move that has garnered both scorn and praise.

We hope the Cupertino giant can juggle fighting the FBI along with staying one step ahead of hackers who wants to do harm. It won't be easy, but if any company can pull it off, we're certain it is Apple and all the smart people the company has at its disposal.

Apple is set to launch new iPhone on Monday, according to Yahoo.