Apple decided to remove a large number of applications from Apple Store because of its discovery of spies who illegally gather personal information from the phone. The iPhone's serial number, email address associated in Apple ID, and lists of applications are the personal information that may compromise on the device. Youmi, a third-party advertising tool by Chinese, is believed to have caused the issue on the concerned apps.
Apple stated in Business Insider that it identified a group of applications that were developed by third-party advertising SDK which uses private information and routes data to its server. The company saw such issue as sensitive due to violation of security and privacy among its customers. As part of the company's decision, it urged other developers to update old versions of their apps.
The Verge reported that there were 250 apps which were removed from Apple Store. These apps were the ones using Youmi software. The report also noted Source DNA's blog which stated, "We believe the developers of these apps aren't aware of this since the SDK is delivered in binary form, obfuscated, and user info is uploaded to Youmi's server, not the app's.
In addition, the blog stated that Youmi has been working for years to tap on iOS's restricted application programming interfaces (APIs). Such mechanism would prevent an application from undergoing into a review process. The blog also stated that "We're concerned other published apps may be using different but related approaches to hide their malicious behaviour." On one hand, Nate Lawson, founder of security analytics start up Source DNA, mentioned in Cult of Mac that this was the first time Apple would be able to discover such violation from third-party developers.
Apple and Source DNA have not provided any list of the affected applications. The company has no information on how many customers were affected by the apps.
Join the Conversation