Apple App Security Prone To Hacker's Attack Using A Password-Stealing Malware
6.19.2015
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Photo credit: ibtimes
The Apple devices and apps claims it is more secure that its competition. But researchers have found apart the security protections in Mac OS X and iOS, it's not only possible to create malware and get it onto the App Store, but it's also feasible to launch devastating attacks using rogue software to steal the most sensitive personal data around, from iCloud passwords and Evernote notes to dodgy selfies and more.
The attacks, known as unauthorized cross-app resource access(XARA), expose design flaws that allow a bad app to access critical pieces of data in other apps. As a result, Apple has struggled to fix the issues, according to a paper released today from Indiana University Bloomington, Peking University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Analysis of 1,612 of the most popular Mac apps and 200 iOS apps found more than 88.6% of the kit using the flawed pieces of the operating systems were exposed to the XARA attacks, leaving all kinds of data out in the open for willing hackers.
Apple had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication, though the researchers said they had disclosed the problems to the tech titan. The researchers have also built a program that detects exploit attempts on OS X, though it’s not yet publicly available.
Users should also be warned when downloading apps from unknown developer, even if it is on the iOS and Mac app stores.
