Clean up operations have begun as a result of what has been described as the worst attack ever on the Apple App Store.
Hackers infiltrated Apple’s normally super secure ecosystem by injecting malicious software into popular Chinese mobile apps. The infection could potentially affect hundreds of millions of Apple users. The incident is raising security concerns as Apple is preparing for the launch of its newest iPhone.
More than 300 Chinese apps are infected including popular instant messaging service WeChat and the Uber ride sharing competitor app Didi Kuaidi. The apps were infected with “XcodeGhost” malware. According to Chinese state media the infection could potentially allow access to private user data including passwords.
Simply put “XcodeGhost” malware can steal data and possibly trick Apple users into surrendering their personally identifiable information. The creators of the malware were able to manipulate a tool used by legitimate Apple iOS and OSX developers to create apps. Those developers, without knowing it, created their apps using this tampered-with tool resulting in the malware infection.
In a statement Apple said, “To protect our customers we’ve removed the apps from the App Store that we know have been created with this counterfeit software and we are working with the developers to make sure they’re using the proper version of Apple software Xcode to rebuild their apps.”
News of the malware was released by US-based cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. The company said the malware came from computer code uploaded to Baidu’s cloud file-sharing service used by Chinese app developers.
Affected apps on the U.S. market include;
LifeSmart version 1.0.45 uninstall immediately.
OPlayer HDLite version 2.1.02 uninstall immediately
WeChat version 6.2.6 has been patched.
WinZip version version 4.2 uninstall immediately
10,000+ Wall Papers for iOS 7, iOS 8, iPhone, iPod, iPad. version 3.6 uninstall immediately.
CamCard Business version 1.8.1 uninstall immediately.
CamScaner Free,CamScanner+ version 3.8.1 uninstall immediately,
Because these apps have come directly from the Apple app store it is unknown if anti-virus software will protect your device. It’s best to uninstall the apps immediately.
Apple has reported that is has removed the affected apps from the App Store.
