Tech giant, Apple issues an urgent warning to iPhone and iPad users against the looming privacy and security concerns. Apple developer Kosta Eleftheriou disclosed that the App Store hosted a series of unlawful movie streaming services. Eleftheriou showcased a series of applications discussing themselves as legal services—utilizing movie trailers and photo filters to trick iPhone and iPad users.
iPhone and iPad Users Get Targeted by Illegal Apps on App Store
The app prompts iPhone and iPad users to enter codes or share the app to unlock more features building up privacy concerns. There are also premium subscription tiers in the apps that are processed via Apple Pay, through which Apple receives a 15-30 percent profit from. Eleftheriou said that the apps have been available in the app store for months despite unfavorable reviews made by the iPhone and iPad users stating it to be unlawful and raising privacy concerns.
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Furthermore, ads for the apps have been pushed, utilizing social media influencers with “millions” of followers to advertise them, says Eleftheriou. “While Apple is failing to police its App Store, these apps have amassed over 2M downloads and are now generating ~16,000/day or about $6M per year,” said Eleftheriou.
Bringing a Plastic Knife to a Gunfight: App Store Security
In addition to this, legal documents in the ongoing “Eric Vs Apple” trial, Eric Friedman, head of the company’s Fraud Engineering Algorithms and Risk [FEAR] unit, described App Store security, “bringing a plastic knife to a gunfight,” Friedman stated the App Store review process is “more like the pretty lady who greets you… at the Hawaiian airport than the drug-sniffing dog.”
Eleftheriou has further taken Apple to court, arguing that the firm copied his Apple Watch app, FlickType. However, his findings within the App Store have made users more alert about their devices.
Source: The Sun
