Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an iOS version of the powerful mobile phone surveillance app that was initially targeting Android devices through apps on the official Google Play Store.
Dubbed Exodus, as the malware is called, the iOS version of the spyware was discovered by security researchers at LookOut during their analysis of its Android samples they had found last year.
Unlike its Android variant, the iOS version of Exodus has been distributed outside of the official App Store, primarily through phishing websites that imitate Italian and Turkmenistani mobile carriers.
Since Apple restricts direct installation of apps outside of its official app store, the iOS version of Exodus is abusing the Apple Developer Enterprise program, which allows enterprises to distribute their own in-house apps directly to their employees without needing to use the iOS App Store.
“Each of the phishing sites contained links to a distribution manifest, which contained metadata such as the application name, version, icon, and a URL for the IPA file,” the researchers say in a blog post.
“All these packages used provisioning profiles with distribution certificates associated with the company Connexxa S.R.L.”
Though the iOS variant is less sophisticated than its Android counterpart, the spyware can still be able to exfiltrate information from targeted iPhone devices including, contacts, audio recordings, photos, videos, GPS location, and device information.
The stolen data is then transmitted via HTTP PUT requests to an endpoint on the attackers controlled command and control server, which is the same CnC infrastructure as the Android version and uses similar communications protocols.
images from Hacker News
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