One of the promises of the App Store is that anything you download has gone through a vetting process by Apple.Occasionally though, iPhone apps with malicious code slip through the cracks, and today, researchers at Kaspersky have reported on new malware they discovered in App Store apps—which they say is ‘the first known case.’ Malware found in both iOS and Android apps with similar tactics Dmitry Kalinin and Sergey Puzan today published their work for Kaspersky about screenshot-reading OCR malware discovered in both Android and iPhone apps.On the iPhone side, the duo identified a number of App Store apps that would use OCR to scan a user’s photo library in search of recovery phrases for crypto wallets.
“This is the first known case of an app infected with OCR spyware being found in Apple’s official app marketplace.” They explain how this works: Various apps are mentioned throughout their full brief, but they seem to primarily target users in Asia and Europe.Some of the apps appeared to be running the malicious code without their developers’ knowledge, while others were suspected bad actors.Several of the affected apps, as notes, are still available on the App Store for download today, including food delivery app ComeCome and AI chat apps AnyGPT and WeTink.
To learn more about this iPhone malware threat, which Kaspersky has dubbed ‘SparkCat,’ you can read their full report here.Best iPhone accessories AirPods Pro 2 (now only $169, down from $249) 10-year AirTag battery case Anker 100W charging brick for fast charging MagSafe Car Mount for iPhone HomeKit smart plug 4-pack You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop.
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