Apple said on Sunday that is cleaning the iOS App Store to remove malicious programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the company’s software store.
The company unveiled the effort after many security companies they have found a malicious program dubbed XcodeGhost incorporated into hundreds of legitimate applications.
This is the first reported case of a large number of malicious software entering through the rigorous process of Apple review. Before this attack, only five malicious applications have been found in the App Store, according to security firm Palo Alto Networks.
The hackers have incorporated the virus in these applications to convince the legitimate software developers to use a version amended as software for creating applications for iOS and Mac, known as Xcode, Apple said.
“We removed applications that we knew were created with counterfeit software from the App Store,” said the door voice of Christine Monaghan Apple. “We are working with developers to make sure they are using the appropriate version of Xcode to remake your applications.” But she did not say what procedures iPhone and iPad users can take to determine if your devices are contaminated or not.
The director of the Palo Alto Networks Ryan Olson said the virus had limited functionality and the company did not find cases of stolen data or other damages that may have resulted from the attack.
Nevertheless, he said the attack is significant since it showed that the App Store could be compromised if hackers infect the machines of the developers of legitimate applications. Other attackers can copy this technique, it said.
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