Apple Targeted as Hackers Infect Popular Chinese Mobile Apps With Malware
September 20 2015 - 8:26AM
Dow Jones News
By Josh Chin
BEIJING--Some of the most popular Chinese names in Apple Inc.'s
App Store were found to be infected with malicious software in what
is being described as a first-of-its-kind security breach, exposing
a rare vulnerability in Apple's mobile platform, according to
multiple researchers.
The applications were infected after software developers were
lured into using a compromised version of Apple's developer tool
kit, according to researchers at Alibaba Mobile Security, a mobile
antivirus division of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
The list of recently compromised iPhone and iPad offerings
includes Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s popular mobile chat app WeChat,
Uber-like car-hailing app Didi Kuaidi, and a Spotify-like music app
from Internet portal NetEase Inc.
The attack affected more than three dozen apps in all, according
to U.S.-based cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc.
The infected apps can transmit information about a user's
device, prompt fake alerts that could be used to steal passwords to
Apple's iCloud service, and read and write information on the
user's clipboard, according to researchers.
Apple didn't have an immediate comment.
In separate statements posted to social media over the weekend,
Tencent, Didi Kuadi Joint Co. and NetEase said their applications
had been compromised but said no sensitive customer information had
been lost.
"At present, we haven't discovered any loss of user information
or assets as a result of this [breach], though the WeChat team will
continue to monitor and do tests," Tencent said in a message posted
to the Sina Weibo microblogging service late Friday. A new, clean
update of the WeChat app had been uploaded to the app store, it
said.
It is unusual for malware to spread through Apple's App Store,
which typically subjects apps to stringent reviews. In a blog post
Thursday, Palo Alto Networks said the attack was the first of its
type directed at Apple's iOS mobile operating system. Chinese
anticensorship activist group Greatfire.org called it "the most
widespread and significant spread of malware" in the app store's
history.
Other apps found infected with the malware include those
belonging to state-run mobile carrier China Unicom, and 12306, the
country's official train-booking website, researchers said. China
Unicom and China's railway bureau did not immediately respond to
faxed requests for comment Sunday.
It wasn't clear Sunday how the infected apps made it past
Apple's screening process, or whether the breach had resulted in
any user information being stolen, though researchers said millions
of devices could have been exposed based on the popularity of the
apps in question.
WeChat has more than 500 million active users, according to
Tencent. It isn't clear how many use devices from Apple, which
accounts for about 15% of China's smartphone market, according to
researcher IDC.
The hack exploited Chinese developers' impatience, according to
Palo Alto Networks. To write apps for Apple devices, developers
have to use a tool kit called Xcode, but downloading the official
version from Apple's website can take a long time in China.
The hackers posted their infected version on a Chinese server,
advertising faster downloads, the researchers said. Any app created
or altered using the bogus Xcode would then itself become infected
with the malware, they said.
The infected Xcode was hosted on Baidu Pan, a cloud service
offered by Chinese search giant Baidu Inc., according to multiple
security researchers. Baidu removed the file shortly after being
notified of its existence, Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo said
Sunday.
The malware has been dubbed XcodeGhost by researchers at Alibaba
Mobile Security, who were the first to document it extensively in a
series of social media posts starting Thursday.
Even if the hackers didn't use the malware to steal anything,
Palo Alto Networks warned it still represented a threat to the
popular operating system. Security researcher Claud Xiao wrote on
the firm's website Friday that criminals and spies could use the
malware to gain access to iOS devices.
"We believe XcodeGhost is a very harmful and dangerous malware
that has bypassed Apple's code review and made unprecedented
attacks on the iOS ecosystem," he wrote.
Yang Jie contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Chin at josh.chin@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for "Apple, Inc."
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0378331005
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 20, 2015 08:11 ET (12:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024