News Insights: Trojan malware infecting 17 apps on the App Store

Today’s news of 17 malicious apps found in Apple’s App store is a wakeup call that iOS users are just as much at risk as Android users when it comes to malware infecting apps.

This only scratches the surface of the different types of malware that could be hiding in the Apple App store.

News Insights: Sam Bakken, Senior product Marketing Manager, OneSpan, commented:

“The Google Play Store is no stranger to this type of malware, but now we have proof that the Apple App Store has the same problems. My fellow iOS users and I need to wake up to the fact that we’re just as much at risk as our Android-using peers. These mobile trojans laid dormant for days on a device so that Apple would not likely detect this malicious behavior.

In the case of business-critical and high-value apps, such as mobile financial services, developers need to pay as much attention to the security of their iOS apps as I hope they already do to the security of their Android apps. There’s really no telling how secure users’ devices are, or whether they’re infected with malware. We can’t depend on Google or Apple to ensure the security of the environments within which apps run and additional action must be taken. For example, using mobile in-app protection and app shielding provide an extra layer of protection beyond what is provided by the platforms (Android or iOS) or the app stores. App shielding monitors the app, regardless of where it’s installed to ensure its execution environment is safe and secure – to shut down any malicious behavior before it’s too late.”