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"Jekyll" Test Attack Sneaks Through Apple App Store, Wreaks Havoc

Posted by samzenpus on from the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A malware test app sneaked through Apple's review process disguised as a harmless app, and then re-assembled itself into an aggressive attacker even while running inside the iOS 'sandbox' designed to isolate apps and data from each other. The app, dubbed Jekyll, was helped by Apple's review process. The malware designers, a research team from Georgia Institute of Technology's Information Security Center, were able to monitor their app during the review: they discovered Apple ran the app for only a few seconds, before ultimately approving it. That wasn't anywhere near long enough to discover Jekyll's deceitful nature."

4 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. BUT MACS DON'T GET ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    BUT MACS DON'T GET VIRUSES.
     
    Unless they're too slow.

    1. Re:BUT MACS DON'T GET ... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, I believe it was OS X.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  2. Re:Most apps only get used for a few seconds anywa by Provocateur · · Score: 4, Funny

    oh, you mean like my single-serving friends that I meet in my travels

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  3. Re:Apple review process = a few seconds? by Immerman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Don't forget the disapproval checklist:
            Does the app compete with any of our own current or future products in any way?
            Does the app violate the sensibilities of the reviewer, his boss, or her mother-in-law's cat?
            Is my coffee cold?

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    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.