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TFA: We focus on Android-based spyware because most of the mobile spyware market appears to be focused there. Since curated app stores like Google Play do not

TFA: We focus on Android-based spyware because most of the mobile spyware market appears to be focused there. Since curated app stores like Google Play do not permit the sale of such apps, in practice they must be side-loaded off-store, a process that Apple does not support. As a result, consumer mobile spyware only operates on “rooted” iPhones. Rooting an iPhone can be a technically involved operation (one popular guide to jailbreaking the iPhone involves 41 distinct steps [17]) and one that can take significant time to complete — both requirements at odds with the broad, non-technical customer base such apps are marketed to. We also focus on leading spyware apps as they are the apps that more people are exposed to and they are more likely to be innovative (new features could potentially bring them more customers).

scarface74 4y ago
And you think the Google Play Store (or the App Store) for that matter could even know what apps are doing? With iOS, the protection comes from its tighter permissions model and sandboxing
- kramerger 4y ago
  Are those two really significantly different in sandboxing and permission model? Should also point out that neither app store is perfect and both have let malicious app slip through. Thanks to the Epic lawsuit we also know that they have tried to hide major incidents ( as in 500M installs of potential malware) from consumers.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    Yes, there is no API on iOS that allows most of the things listed in the article that apps can use even it tried to use non documented APIs. > After installation, they covertly record the victim’s device activities — including any text messages, emails, photos, or voice calls — and allow abusers to remotely review this information through a web portal And the “malware” that was installed was because people were using hacked XCode versions that didn’t come from Apple and they still didn’t escape the sandbox.
    - kramerger 4y ago
      That's not really sandboxing, just a limitation of what apps can do on iPhone. And I belive it has changed recently. Doesn't really matter how the malware get there. The important part is that it waltzed right past Apples quality control.
      - scarface74 4y ago
        Didn’t I just say that? Both App Store review processes are far from perfect. But even when app developers were inadvertently delivering malware to the App Store because of third party download of XCode, the blast radius was much more limited because Apple had sense enough to know that it might be a bad idea to let random third party apps intercept your text messages and phone calls

scarface74 4y ago

And you think the Google Play Store (or the App Store) for that matter could even know what apps are doing? With iOS, the protection comes from its tighter permissions model and sandboxing

kramerger 4y ago
Are those two really significantly different in sandboxing and permission model? Should also point out that neither app store is perfect and both have let malicious app slip through. Thanks to the Epic lawsuit we also know that they have tried to hide major incidents ( as in 500M installs of potential malware) from consumers.
- scarface74 4y ago
  Yes, there is no API on iOS that allows most of the things listed in the article that apps can use even it tried to use non documented APIs. > After installation, they covertly record the victim’s device activities — including any text messages, emails, photos, or voice calls — and allow abusers to remotely review this information through a web portal And the “malware” that was installed was because people were using hacked XCode versions that didn’t come from Apple and they still didn’t escape the sandbox.
  - kramerger 4y ago
    That's not really sandboxing, just a limitation of what apps can do on iPhone. And I belive it has changed recently. Doesn't really matter how the malware get there. The important part is that it waltzed right past Apples quality control.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      Didn’t I just say that? Both App Store review processes are far from perfect. But even when app developers were inadvertently delivering malware to the App Store because of third party download of XCode, the blast radius was much more limited because Apple had sense enough to know that it might be a bad idea to let random third party apps intercept your text messages and phone calls