by Charles Liu
The NanfangYesterday, 5:33 PM
Apple revealed yesterday an undisclosed number of products infected with malware has innundated its iOS App Store in China, possibly putting as many as 500 million users at risk.
Several cyber security firms found that many developers for the Chinese App store had inadvertently allowed a malicious program called XCodeGhost to be embedded in their finished project that targets their users’ privacy. Apps infected with XCodeGhost will collect the phone’s name, UUID (special identifier), language, country, current time and network type upon first being launched.
Developers were duped into using a counterfeit version of XCode, Apple’s software for creating programs for iOS and Mac apps, when they downloaded it from third-party websites, thought to provide quicker speeds than official servers located in the USA.
Apple has not revealed how many apps are affected. U.S.-based cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks said about 50 apps have been infected with the malware, while Chinese security firm Qihoo360 Technology said they found 344 compromised apps. Prior to this breach, only five programs offered to the App Store were found and rejected by Apple’s stringent review process.
Infected apps include WeChat, NetEase Cloud Music, WinZip, and those providing services for Didi Kuaidi, Didi Chuxing, Railway 12306, China Unicom Mobile Office and Tonghuashun.
With its enormously popularity in China and throughout Asia, around 500 million WeChat users are now at risk from having used a compromised program.
MacRumors suggests all App Store customers should immediately uninstall any infected iOS app, or update the program to a newer version with the malware removed. As well, users should consider reseting their iCloud password or any other passwords inputted on their iOS device.
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