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As many as 225,000 Apple iPhone users have had their account details hacked in what is said to be the biggest attack of its kind against the firm’s user base.
The hack has hit 225,000 users from 18 countries including China, France, Russia, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Israel, Italy, Spain, Singapore, and South Korea.
The attack used malicious software (malware) called KeyRaider, which steals account details from infected iPhones, according to researchers Palo Alto Networks.
Some victims have already seen fraudulent charges on their accounts – where the criminals use account details to download premium apps for other devices.
At least one user has seen their device locked and been presented with a ransom demand.
Palo Alto networks says that the malware only affects jailbroken devices, and appears to be spread by apps on third-party app stores such as Cydia.
If you are worried, the researchers offer a step-by-step guide to seeing if your device has been infected.
The researchers say, ‘It can locally disable any kind of unlocking operations, whether the correct passcode or password has been entered.
‘Also, it can send a notification message demanding a ransom directly using the stolen certificate and private key, without going through Apple’s push server.
Because of this functionality, some of previously used ‘rescue’ methods are no longer effective.’
Agencies/Canadajournal
