Apple Removes Apps After Major Malware Attack on App Store

A number of cybersecurity companies including Palo Alto identified that hundreds of verified apps had been infected with a malicious programme, which has been dubbed XcodeGhost, reportsReuters.

Palo Alto Networks warned users of any future attacks.

Hackers found a backdoor into the App Store by adding malicious code to Xcode, a collection of software development tools used by programmers to build apps for iPhones and iPads.

It’s the first time that the Apple software has ever been infected at this scale. Developers were likely lured into using the counterfeit version, XcodeGhost, because it handled downloads more quickly over a local Chinese server, rather than a slower, faraway US server (they thought it was a mirror download). It was reported that only the earlier, 6.2.5 version of WeChat was infected, thus the reason why the latest version has been retained on the app store. Once the malware has been downloaded on a device, it can generate phishing attacks asking for personal information, according to Palo Alto Networks, a security company investigating the breach.

Any developers writing apps for Apple products have to use a program called Xcode. Some apps published to the App Store that included malicious code were popular Chinese messaging app WeChat, Angry Birds 2, and business card scanner CamCard, with over 300 apps suspected of being infected. He continued to say that hackers, criminals, and spies could use the malware to access iOS devices. Apple said on Sunday it’s warning iOS developers to obtain Xcode only from its own site, rather than from third-party sources, which seems to have been the case here.

Tencent, Didi Kuaidi and NetEase all claimed that, while their applications had been compromised, no sensitive customer information had been lost. The famous company is well-known for its highly functional and very tough process of reviewing apps to make sure that nothing will be compromised. The malicious code was reportedly embedded in Apps by cyber attackers who had attacked Apple’s program hub.