Unprecedented iOS and OS X Malware

[somdfunguy]

Bigger concern for those using unoficial apps but good for all to know.

https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/co...ry-of-unprecedented-ios-and-os-x-malware.html

Santa Clara, Calif., November 5, 2014 – Palo Alto Networks® (NYSE: PANW), the leader in enterprise security, today announced discovery of a new family of Apple OS X and iOS malware exhibiting characteristics unseen in any previously documented threats targeting Apple platforms. This new family, dubbed WireLurker, marks a new era in malware across Apple’s desktop and mobile platforms, representing a potential threat to businesses, governments and Apple customers worldwide.

Among its defining characteristics, WireLurker represents:

• The first known malware family that can infect installed iOS applications similar to how a traditional virus would
• The first in-the-wild malware family that can install third-party applications on non-jailbroken iOS devices through enterprise provisioning
• Only the second known malware family that attacks iOS devices through OS X via USB
• The first malware family to automate generation of malicious iOS applications through binary file replacement

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/05/wirelurker-malware-affecting-macs-ios-devices/

The WireLurker malware is the "biggest in scale" in the trojanized malware family, and it is able to attack iOS devices through OS X using USB. It's said to be able to infect iOS applications similar to a traditional virus, and it is the first malware capable of installing third-party applications on non-jailbroken iOS devices "through enterprise provisioning.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Makes Apple Pay seem like a great idea doesn't it?

 

[GURPS]

WireLurker monitors any iOS device connected via USB with an infected OS X computer and installs downloaded third-party applications or automatically generated malicious applications onto the device, regardless of whether it is jailbroken. This is the reason we call it "wire lurker". Researchers have demonstrated similar methods to attack non-jailbroken devices before; however, this malware combines a number of techniques to successfully realize a new brand of threat to all iOS devices.

WireLurker was used to trojanize 467 OS X applications on the Maiyadi App Store, a third-party Mac application store in China. In the past six months, these 467 infected applications were downloaded over 356,104 times and may have impacted hundreds of thousands of users.

well its a good thing my iPhone only ever gets plugged into my PC .....





thanks for posting this


..... but it is interesting it uses a Mac Computer as an attack vector to the iPhone

 

[crushmymugshot1]

Palo Alto Networks is leading a new era in cybersecurity by protecting thousands of enterprise, government, and service provider networks from cyber threats.