Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Users in China Under Attack

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By Jessica Schultz on November 7, 2014 Intl News

A new malware by the name of WireLurker has broken the legend of an unbreakable iOS and OS X security. The malware, which targets Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices, is especially targeting users in China. China is potentially the biggest market Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) can ever tap, and the existence of a malware on its system effects its credibility.

Maiyadi App Store, which is a famous application store in China for pirated mobile software applications, seems to be the source of the malware. According to the research firm Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE:PANW), the malware has latched onto over 450 apps on the Maiyadi app store, which have been downloaded by thousands of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) users onto their Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices.

The virus first comes onto the OS X devices through apps downloaded from the Maiyadi app store. It then travels to iPhones and all other devices using the iOS, as soon as they are connected to the OS X device infected with the malware.

Previously, only jailbroken (running modified operating systems) Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices were under threat from viruses and malwares. However, WireLurker can infect an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) device regardless, and “may have impacted hundreds of thousands of users,” according to Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE:PANW).

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE:PANW) is looking into the matter, which is the same firm that identified the existence of the malware in the first instance. The panel of researchers investigating the matter is being headed by the intelligence director at Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE:PANW) himself, Mr. Ryan Olson, due to the gravity of the threat.

It is the first time in history that a malware has been able to successfully infiltrate the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) security systems enabled on all Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices, and Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE:PANW) has awarded the issue the highest priority possible. The last instance of a threat to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices was in 2003, which was an attack of nature similar to that of WireLurker.

The strength and architecture of WireLurker has shocked Olson. According to him, “WireLurker is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in terms of Apple iOS and OS X malware.” There is no denying the fact that viruses and malwares are becoming stronger day by day, and Olson suggests that makers of malwares and viruses are “getting more sophisticated when it comes to exploiting some of the world’s best-known desktop and mobile platforms.”

The objective of the new malware seems unclear. As far as the threat is concerned, the malware does not seem to have stolen any confidential information from the devices, except maybe the phonebook. It is being estimated by Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE:PANW) that over 350,000 devices have been infected by the virus directly from the downloaded apps of Maiyadi App Store, and thousands more by means of transmission through data cables and other forms of connectivity.

However, Olson warns that WireLurker should not be taken lightly, as it is under “active development” by its makers. Potentially, and in the long run, the malware can easily “take your Apple ID or do something else that’s bad news.”