Apple Gets First Real Virus Scare

Apple Gets First Real Virus Scare

  • By Ginger Hill
  • Nov 06, 2014

Looks like sitting on your new iPhone 6+ and bending it is the least of your worries! Palo Alto Networks, a security firm, has discovered malware in the iOS operating system.

Wirelurker, as it’s termed, sneaks onto computers using unauthorized Chinese apps. It then attacks iOS devices whey they connect over USB. Seriously, though, when’s the last time you actually plugged your iPhone into your computer? Hope you don’t answer with “yesterday!”

Apple has blocked these apps containing malicious software and they have also blocked identified apps to prevent them from launching. It seems that Wirelurker appears to be mostly wiped out. (Key word here is “mostly.”)

Now that Apple has had vulnerabilities exploited by Wirelurker, this could lead to other viruses infiltrating the iOS operating system.

If you’re an iPhone user, be sure to only download apps/software from the Apple App Store. If a piece of software isn’t signed and approved by Apple, it cannot operate on an iPhone, which has been enough to stop most viruses…until now. Wirelurker exploited an exception to Apple’s policy: enterprise provisioning, an official ID that allows third-party apps onto iOS devices.

About the Author

Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.

Featured

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.