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UPDATE - Apple apps store hit by malware attack

Last updated: 10:02 21 Sep 2015 EDT, First published: 08:02 21 Sep 2015 EDT

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Cyber-security firm Palo Alto said XcodeGhost had infected 39 iOS apps, potentially affecting hundreds of millions of users.

Electronics gizmo maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has cleaned up its apps store after a rare security breach.

The company, which keeps tight control over what software may run on its iOS operating system, revealed over the weekend that some malicious software (malware) had breached its defenses, and had been embedded in legitimate software.

Developers of genuine Apple apps had been gulled into using a dodgy version of a software kit used to create apps forApple devices and programs for Apple computers; as a result, a piece of malware, dubbed XcodeGhost, was acting as a Trojan horse in apps that have been available for download in Apple’s apps store.

“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 Xcode to rebuild their apps,” Apple said.

Malware can give access to user’s security details especially passwords, though there was no information if any data had been compromised.

Three Chinese companies, Tencent, which runs the WeChat messaging service, Didi Kuaidi, a journey app, and music streaming firm NetEase, all stated they had been affected but that no consumer information had been lost.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the hackers advertised the infected version of the Apple software on a Chinese server with a promise of faster downloads than the official version.

The Reuters news agency reported that Chinese security firm Qihoo360 Technology had uncovered 344 apps tainted with XcodeGhost.

In happier news for Apple, the company said its latest operating system, iOS 9, had been installed on 50% of Apple’s connected devices.

The operating system was rolled out last week and Apple said the adoption rate was the fastest ever experienced by the company.

The new iOS is on track to be downloaded by more users than any other software release in Apple's history, according to Philip Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Apple.

 

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