iOS apps infected by XcodeGhost

by Lisander González / September 23, 2015 12:35 PM EDT

The promised land, that's how all devices with the iOS operating system could be considered years ago, since users were seemingly safe from malicious viruses, which represented a great advantage and absolute convenience to use the device freely without worries, but in recent months, we have realized that the current reality is different.

This is because it has been confirmed that cybercriminals or hackers have been able to breach the security of this operating system, information that has caused concern for many users who thought they were safe. The name XcodeGhost has been circulating widely online lately ; this is nothing more than malicious code that has been found in a considerable number of apps on the App Store.

XcodeGhost, the new iOS threat

This is the latest attack by hackers targeting iOS users, primarily focused on the Chinese App Store . This attack, dubbed XcodeGhost, involves hackers infecting Apple's Xcode tool for app development. This causes legitimately uploaded apps to the App Store to receive malicious viruses, ultimately aiming to steal user information.

The attack is primarily focused on the Chinese App Store

A truly important fact, and one that should teach many users and developers a lesson, is that this code was certainly not placed intentionally. Many users who complained about the slow download speed of Xcode on the App Store decided to search for this application development tool on other websites and downloaded a modified version containing this malicious code. This is how XcodeGhost appears.

While Apple is aware of the problem and has taken action, it's strange that, given their claimed level of security, they didn't take steps sooner to stop this attack . A list of several applications infected with XcodeGhost has recently been released.

It has been reported that Apple has removed approximately 300 apps from its App Store , perhaps more. Apple has already begun working with developers to upload new versions of their apps. Some of the known affected apps include the very popular game Angry Birds 2, Micro Channel, Pocket Billing, The Kitchen, WeChat, and many others, which can be found on the website 9to5mac.com.

A general recommendation for all users who have installed any of these infected applications is to completely uninstall them and wait for a new version to become available. Additionally, it is not yet known whether the US and European App Stores have been infected.