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New malware stealing advertising revenue from jailbroken iOS devices
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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A new piece of malware has started infecting jailbroken iOS devices earlier this year. The "AdThief" or "Spad" package hijacks advertising clicks and revenue, and redirects them to the author of the package, rather than the developer who inserted the advertising in the first place. The malware is simple and low profile -- it replaces the developer's ID with the attacker's ID. Mobile ad kits targeted by the AdThief malware are mostly from Chinese vendors, with four in the US, and a pair in India.
Publication Virus Bulletin has likely identified the original author as "Rover12421," who is known for Android hacks. In a public comment in March, he claimed that the package was "closed" and denies having anything to do with the release of the package.
Virus Bulletin (PDF) claims that 22 million ads have had income redirected, but it is unknown how much actual revenue this has generated. The package requires the Cydia Substrate, the layer that allows custom code to be loaded and execute on jailbroken devices. Without the substrate, the virus has no effect and can't install, so un-jailbroken devices remain immune to the attack.
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Last edited by NewsPoster; Aug 22, 2014 at 04:35 AM.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Columbus, OH
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Jailbreaking has consequences.
This is one of them.
Not surprised nor sympathetic.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Nov 2008
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It is simple. Pay for your software and quit stealing it. Get an Android phone if you are a cheapskate thieving scum.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
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There are other reasons for jailbreaking than being a cheapskate thieving scum.
Go argue politics if you are a pre-supposing judgemental guy.
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Last edited by Mike Wuerthele; Aug 20, 2014 at 11:43 AM.
Reason: language on front page!)
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Senior User
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: in front of my computer
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"There are other reasons for jailbreaking than being a cheapskate thieving scum."
and no matter whether your motive(s) for jailbreaking are good or bad, you are still taking risks and this malware is one of those risks.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
Status:
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Maitland, FL
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And this is exactly why I stopped jailbreaking my iPhone (and for the record, I never did so to pirate software; in my case it was done to unlock my out-of-contract iPhone years before AT&T allowed that). I always knew that at some point, the same vulnerabilities that allowed jailbreaking to happen at all were going to be use to introduce malware to the iPhone platform. It was inevitable.
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Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
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