Researches discovered last week a major iOS malware, called XcodeGhost. It infected hundreds of App Store apps, including popular titles such as
- CamCard
- CamScanner
- PDFReader
- WinZip
According to Reuters, “It is the first reported case of large numbers of malicious software programs making their way past Apple’s stringent app review process. Prior to this attack, only five malicious apps had ever been found in the App Store”
Apple Inc APPL.O said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet.
Mac Rumors offers a good summary and break-down of how the malware got into the App Store, and how it can affect you:
Apps infected with the malware collect information and upload that data to the hackers. The information they can collect includes:
- Current time
- Current infected app’s name
- The app’s bundle identifier
- Current device’s name and type
- Current system’s language and country
- Current device’s UUID
- Network type
The hackers can also
- Prompt a fake alert dialog to phish user credentials
- Hijack opening specific websites
- Read and write clipboard data
So far, there’s not much you need to – or can – do about it. If you use any of the apps on this list of infected apps, you should uninstall them immediately. Otherwise, Apple will take care of cleaning up its Store and making sure apps are safe when they’re added back.