Previous to this attack, only a handful of malicious apps have manged to work their way into the store, in an environment where even legitimate apps have a hard time getting in. The Apple Store is supposed to act like a walled garden against malware, making it virtually impossible for suspicious or poor quality software to get through the vetting process. Apple’s security testers completely missed the threat, and that should come as both a surprise, and a warning to consumers. The news should trouble Apple consumers as Apple spends significant resources, time, and revenue checking and approving each and every submission to its App Stores worldwide. XcodeGhost is pretty much what you’d expect: It’s malicious code hidden within legitimate code that when activated tried to turn iPhones, iPads and several other iOS devices into part of a global information gathering botnet capable of stealing both standard and personal information from users. The Apps affected were apparently those primarily written and released in China itself. The 300 or so affected apps had potentially been “downloaded by hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users,” by the time it was discovered. The Chinese version of Angry Birds 2, version 6.2.5 of WeChat, CamScanner, and a music download app developed by NetEase, were just 4 of the apps found to contain code that was flagged as containing malware by one security firm. The XcodeGhost code was reported as being included in several very popular iOS apps. It is feared however that significant damage may already have been done. The Apps began to be removed on Sunday night in direct response to alarm bells that had been raised by several Cyber and Antivirus security companies.Īpple moved fast to remove and contain the damage caused by the malicious XcodeGhost code that had been embedded in scores of legitimate apps. In what has been widely reported, and widely believed, to be the first successful major attack on Apple’s App Store, Apple has been forced to remove over 300 infected hidden malware apps in quick succession from its Chinese App Store.
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