Palo Alto Networks said the XcodeGhost malware infected several popular Apple iOS apps, including Tencent Holdings Ltd’s mobile chat app WeChat, car-hailing app Didi Kuaidi, and a music app from Internet portal NetEase Inc.
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A spokeswoman said the apps had now been removed.
Smarter Siri now delivers proactive assistance and suggestions and you can ask it to give you reminders about things you’re looking at in Safari, Mail, Notes and Messages apps.
“We’ve removed the apps from the App Store that we know have been created with this counterfeit software”, Apple spokesperson Christine Monaghan told Reuters. A Chinese security company, Qohoo, said it found more than 300 infected apps.
Wallet app replaces the Passbook app for storing digital versions of member and payment cards.
Palo Alto Networks Director of Threat Intelligence Ryan Olson said the malware had limited functionality and his firm had uncovered no examples of data theft or other harm as a result of the attack.
One theory is that Apple’s servers are slow to download from in China, so developers used this alternative “mirror” (unaware of its true credibility) download for convenience and speed.
Chatter about modified versions of the developer code, called Xcode, surfaced last week on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. Apple said it was working with developers to make sure they were using the proper version of Xcode.
The watchOS 2 brings some eagerly-anticipated improvements to Apple’s wearable computer, most notably the ability for third-party apps to directly access the watch’s sensors, enabling more efficient apps that don’t require an iPhone to be linked.
The breach shows the lengths to which hackers go to break into Apple hardware and software, which has always been thought of as having superior security.
Officials at Apple were not immediately available for comment Sunday.
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Numerous websites that were receiving stolen information have been discovered and shut down, according to researchers. Apple hasn’t specified a new release date, but says it will be soon.
