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Apple has said it is taking steps to remove malicious code added to a number of apps commonly used on iPhones and iPads in China.
It is thought to be the first large-scale attack on Apple's App Store.
The hackers created a counterfeit version of Apple's software for building iOS apps, which they persuaded developers to download.
Apps compiled using the tool allow the attackers to steal data about users and send it to servers they control.
Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks - which has analysed the malware dubbed XcodeGhost - said the perpetrators would also be able to send fake alerts to infected devices to trick their owners into revealing information.
It added they could also read and alter information in compromised devices' clipboards, which would potentially allow them to see logins copied to and from password management tools.
takyon: Affected apps include WeChat, NetEase's music downloading app, Didi Kuaidi's Uber-like car hailing app, the business card scanner CamCard, and more.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @07:33AM
> They will reject apps that happen to mention the word Android anywhere in the app, but they never check for basic functionality, and outbound connections
That's the basically the halting problem. It is literally impossible for them to catch everything and effectively impossible to catch anything sophisticated until after the fact. Signature matching won't catch a polymorphic virus either.
I expect the toolchain thing gets worse - these guys got hit because they downloaded a compromised toolchain instead of going to the source. Next revision will be malware that infects an already installed toolchain. In fact, I thought I'd already heard about that a few months ago, maybe something the Snowden dumped revealed the NSA had already done? I bet we eventually see something that infects source code for iphone apps.
Its going to get ugly. This may be the start of a sea change in app stores.