According to a report by beeping computer. The apps were designed to generate revenue by masquerading as legitimate apps and presenting a deluge of advertisements to iPhone users.
Discovered by HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence team, the mobile apps are part of an ad fraud campaign they call “Scylla”. This is the third wave of a fraud operation first discovered in August 2019 that Apple is fighting against. The apps have been removed from App Store at this point, but if you have installed the following apps, you should remove them:
- Loot the castle – com.loot.rcastle.fight.battle (id1602634568)
- Run Bridge – com.run.bridge.race (id1584737005)
- Shining gun – com.shinning.gun.ios (id1588037078)
- Racing Legend 3D – com.racing.legend.like (id1589579456)
- Rope runner – com.rope.runner.family (id1614987707)
- Woodcarver – com.wood.sculptor.cutter (id1603211466)
- Firewall – com.fire.wall.poptit (id1540542924)
- Ninja critical hit – wger.ninjacriticalhit.ios (id1514055403)
- Tony Runs – com.TonyRuns.game
Ad-frauding apps used a group ID that didn’t match their post name, making advertisers think impressions were coming from a more profitable software category. The apps apparently mimicked CTV-based apps, with identifiers often changing to evade detection.
While 10 apps were found on the iOS App Store, over 70 were found on the Google Play Store, and adware is a much bigger problem on Android devices. Apple’s App Store review process was able to mitigate the severity of the issue on iOS devices, but there are still apps that slip through.
Adware is more of an annoyance than a serious problem on the App Store, but it’s something iPhone owners should be aware of. Security researchers suggest that smartphone users should look for rapid battery drain and increased internet data usage to spot apps that use ads fraudulently in the future. Avoiding installing apps from suspicious developers is also a good idea.
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