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| iTunes hacks steal users' money, drive apps to the top of sales charts |
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Security News
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Mathew J. Schwartz, InformationWeek |
2010-08-27 14:11:17 |
Email and peer-to-peer networks also rank as significant venues for malware attacks, which have increased slightly in the U.S. but declined in Europe, according to Panda Security. |
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Hugo Jean, Heptacube Inc. |
2010-08-24 14:51:53 |
The motivation behind the $7.68 billion deal is unclear, but Intel says it wants to integrate computer security into its hardware. |
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IT Directory
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| Wiseleap Solutions Inc. | |
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Founded in 2005, Wiseleap Solutions Inc.'s mission consists in providing companies with the information necessary to make cri [...]
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| IT Ration Consulting Inc. | |
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IT-Ration Consulting inc has been a NetSuite Partner since 2005 and helps your enterprise grow by aligning your Information T [...]
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| HumanWare | |
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Empowering People
Focused on enhancing the lives of people with visual and learning disabilities, HumanWare provide [...]
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By Hugo Jean, Heptacube Inc.
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2010-07-05 15:32:23
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Doubts have first been raised when people noticed that electronic books from Vietnamese developer Thuat Nguyen (and his company called 'The Company') were basically taking the top sales charts hostage: 42 of the top 50 applications in the books category yesterday were from The Company. Using artwork from the popular manga series DragonBall as icons, these could have been illegal Vietnamese copies of the books.
Thuat Nguyen's account and applications have since been removed from iTunes, but some damage has already been done and others have followed in The Company's tracks.
Despite some early claims of iTunes having been hacked, there is no certitude of this. Individual user accounts are likely to have been compromised through phishing scams or brute force hacking. The accounts, once compromised, are used by the hackers to buy multiple applications for a value up to several hundred dollars, or even more than a thousand dollars. Some schemes also start with a free "game" application called 'World War'. In-game credits can be bought for it, in packages costing as much as $149.
It is not known whether the removal of Nguyen's account and applications was done by Apple or by the owner, however, as Apple has not yet commented on the story. 'Charismaist', 'Wishii Network' and 'Storm 8' are other iTunes publishers that look suspicious for their shady applications' sudden rise into the top charts. News/blogging Web site The Next Web also reports several user complaints related to these.
iTunes users are advised to look up their purchasing history to spot suspicious activity. Customers who have been victim of such frauds should reset their password for the iTunes store and contact their banking institution to be reimbursed for any fraudulent transaction. They also should try to reach Apple by email or by phone (1 800 275-2273).
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Apple fraud hack iTunes phish |
