Apple on Masque Attacks: Not Aware of Any Users Impacted

On the day the US government warned users about "Masque Attacks" resulting from a vulnerability that was discovered recently, Apple spoke up on the issue saying it had no knowledge of users getting impacted from the exploit till date.

In a statement released by the Cupertino-based tech firm to iMore website, Apple said that it designed OS X and iOS with inbuilt "security safeguards" which can notify users before they install any kind of malicious software. Apple further encouraged users to install software from trusted sources only and "pay attention to any warnings as they download apps." Here is the text of Apple's statement as reproduced by iMore:

"We designed OS X and iOS with built-in security safeguards to help protect customers and warn them before installing potentially malicious software," an Apple spokesperson told iMore. "We're not aware of any customers that have actually been affected by this attack. We encourage customers to only download from trusted sources like the App Store and to pay attention to any warnings as they download apps. Enterprise users installing custom apps should install apps from their company's secure website."

Earlier this week, network security company FireEye said that "masque attacks"made possible by a vulnerability in software running iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices posed "much bigger threats" than a recently disclosed WireLurker flaw patched by Apple.

"Masque attacks can replace authentic apps, such as banking and email apps, using attacker's malware through the Internet," FireEye had said in a blog post. "That means the attacker can steal user's banking credentials by replacing an authentic banking app with an malware that has identical UI (user interface)."

Written with agency inputs.