Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) App Store finally got hacked. The iPhone maker said it is taking steps to clean up the App Store after several cyber security firms reported finding a malicious program called XcodeGhost that was embedded in hundreds of legitimate applications, according to Reuters. The hackers used the Xcode tool that iOS developers use and modified it to place the malware code into apps in the first large-scale attack on the App Store.
"We've removed the apps from the App Store that we know have been created with this counterfeit software," Apple spokeswoman Christine Monaghan said in a statement to Reuters. "We are working with the developers to make sure they're using the proper version of Xcode to rebuild their apps." She did not say what steps iPhone and iPad users could take to determine whether their devices were infected.
Citing researchers at Palo Alto Networks, an online security company that is investigating the incident, The New York Times reports the App Store had around 40 apps infected with the malware. In a blog post, Palo Alto said the breach could potentially affect hundreds of millions of users. The list of affected apps includes some of the most popular apps in China, like the ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi, as well as popular global apps like the messaging app WeChat. Article